In a bid to cut down emissions during the transportation of coal, the Ministry of Coal is taking steps to enhance transportation through rail. Alongside, efforts are being made to reduce the movement of coal by road. To enhance rail capacity, new broad gauge rail lines in Greenfield coal-bearing areas is under planning.
Further, works to extend the rail links to newer loading points and increase the rail lines in some cases are also under planning.Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Gati Shakti-Nation Master Plan for Infrastructure Development in October 2021. The plan aims to bring different ministries together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects. It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various ministries and state governments and leverage technology extensively, including spatial planning tools.
In line with PM Gati Shakti‘s objective, the Ministry of Coal has undertaken 13 railway projects to develop multimodal connectivity. Also, these will help in identifying missing infrastructure gaps for each project. Four railway projects have successfully been mapped in the National Master Plan (NMP) portal under high impact projects. These projects will be developed in Jharkhand and Odisha to facilitate the movement of coal with rapid logistics and wider connectivity for all the commercial miners.
Also Read | PM GatiShakti NMP Can Make Logistics Cost Among The Lowest Worldwide: Piyush Goyal
(With inputs from PIB)
