The management of Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL) has set forth a plan to mine 20 million tonne of coal in the next financial year from the four new opencast mines at Naini (Odisha), VK (Kothagudem), Rompedu (Yellandu) and Goleti (Bellampali) in Telangana, which are to be opened later this year.

Around 90 percent of work on the new mines is already completed and the remaining work are to be expedited to be in line with commissioning in December, 2023.

The company expects to reach the intended capacity of 20 million tonne in the next financial year. All clearances and approvals have been secured for the Naini mine in Odisha. However, the work on the coal handling plant (CHP) and railway siding from the CHP to the main railway line is yet to be completed. All arrangements regarding the transport of the coal to the railway siding would be finalised soon.

The Naini coal mine is expected to contribute 10 million tonne coal to the 20 million planned to be mined from the new mines next year. Forest clearances are yet to be obtained for VK, Rompedu and Goleti mines.

Overall, the plan is to reach the peak production capacity of four million tonne from VK, two million tonne from Rompedu and 3.5 million tonne from Goleti from the next financial year.