[Answered] Discuss the significance of greening of the coal sector. Highlight the steps taken by the government for the same.

The Ministry of Coal has set an ambitious goal for coal companies to bring more than 2400 hectare of area in and around coalfields under green cover with plantation of more than 50 lakh saplings for the year 2022-23. The identified areas include reclaimed mined out areas of coal companies and areas outside of leasehold – amenable for plantation and made available by State Government agencies.

Significance of greening of the coal sector:

• Greening initiatives of the coal sector support India’s NDC commitment to create additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
• Promotes a sustainable model of development in which coal production concurs with steps to protect the environment, conserve natural resources, care for society and measures to protect our forests & wildlife.
• Helps in addressing the twin challenges of fulfilling commitments for decarbonizing the energy sector and, meeting the country’s rising energy demand, which would primarily be reliant on coal.

Steps taken by the government:

• Ministry of Coal (MoC) organizes Vriksharopan Abhiyan involving all mining areas of coal/lignite CPSUs. Free distribution of saplings amongst local inhabitants/agencies during the Abhiyan enhances plantation and also sensitizes the host community on importance of plantation.
• Activities like ecological reclamation of mined out land and overburden dumps, plantation in and around mines, to leave a lighter mining footprint after the closure of mining.
• Green belt is created around the source of air pollution like mine, infrastructure and roads, and around the mine and residential colony for noise attenuation.
• Utlization of Mine Water for irrigation &providing treated water for drinking to rural population in & around command area of mining subsidiaries of CIL, SCCL & NLCIL.
• First Mile Connectivity (FMC), process which eliminates movement of coal through road and thus not only minimizes the environmental pollution, but also reduces the carbon footprint.
• 10 new Eco-Parks in different mining areas are under different stages of development.
• Towards use of renewable energy, CIL has set a target to establish 3 GW of Solar PV projects by FY24 to become self-reliant in electricity.

Greening of the coal sector is imperative in achieving the aim of carbon neutrality by 2070. On a global scale, it mitigates climate change through carbon sequestration and also results in economic growth of the region.