Hindalco Industries will apply for a coal tapering linkage licence to feed its 359,000 tonnes Greenfield aluminum smelter project at Mahan of Madhya Pradesh.

The smelter plant has 750 MW captive power plant catering to its requirement. A tapering licence from the Government assures coal supply from other sources till such time the allotted coal block becomes operational. The quantity of supply starts tapering to extent of the mine output.

The Government had allotted the Mahan coal block at Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh to Essar Power and Hindalco for their 1,200 MW and 750 MW projects.

Mr D Bhattacharya MD of Hindalco said that the Government earlier threatened to cancel the coal block allotment if work was not expedited. Now, the project is nearing commissioning while the environment clearance for the mine has not been given.

Mr Bhattacharya said that the coal mine was allocated in 2006 for which environment clearance was given in December 2008. Development work was halted after the area was declared a no go zone in January 2010. The Forest Advisory Committee considered the proposal four times between July 2008 and December 2009, but it could not arrive at a final decision “given the complexity of the issues involved.

He said that we will apply for tapering licence to ensure adequate supply at least for the first phase of 200,000 tonnes which will go on stream by early next year.

(Sourced from www.thehindubusinessline.com)