The plan to extract gas from coal mines will gain momentum, the government will provide aid of Rs 85 billion

The government's intention to extract gas from coal mines is two decades old but it has not achieved much success yet. But now it is expected that the government's plan in this regard will soon pick up pace. In this sequence, four companies have been selected by the Central Government on Monday, which will be given financial incentives under the coal gasification project.

Their names are Bharat Coal Gasification and Chemicals Limited, a joint venture of Coal India Limited and GAIL India, Coal India and New Era Cleantech Solutions. In this, New Era Cleantech Solutions will be allowed to set up a small-sized project under the third category and will get financial incentives accordingly.

The Union Cabinet had approved an incentive scheme of Rs 8500 crore a few months ago. Money will be made available from this fund to those companies who will work on the plan to extract gas from the coal mines of the country. For this, five companies had applied to the Coal Ministry. Out of these, the above four companies have been selected.

Companies will be given tax exemption to buy capital products for setting up the said project and subsidy will be given in interest rate payment etc. The government has set a target of extracting 10 crore tonnes of gas from coal gasification projects by the year 2030. This was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the General Budget 2024-25.

The government and private companies are likely to invest Rs 4 lakh crore in the coal gasification sector of the country in the next few years. It will also generate a lot of new employment opportunities. The Ministry of Coal estimates that it will also prove to be very helpful in reducing carbon emissions in India.

The gas coming out of coal mines can be used in fuel or in the industrial sector. It can also be supplied to gas based power plants. In India, power projects of 24 thousand MW capacity are currently stalled due to lack of gas. They can be supplied gas from the plant through coal gasification.

If the supply of gas in large quantities is ensured, then the government may also decide to set up a fertilizer plant around the concerned coal mine. According to officials of the Coal Ministry, everything will depend on how much gas we are able to extract. If the target of 100 million tonnes is achieved, it will be double the current gas production.