A nationalised coal major, besides producing coal, will also start producing packaged drinking water within a year for markets in Bengal and Jharkhand. The company’s environment unit has already given the go-ahead for the project.
Aiming to reduce the water footprint of mining, Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) – a PSU subsidiary of Coal India – is set to utilise mine water to introduce Coal Neer, a packaged drinking water brand, senior ECL officials said. They added: “The basic groundwork for this is currently in progress.”
The company has proposed to instal an RO-based purification and treatment plant at two abandoned coal pits in Kumardihi, within ECL’s Bankola Area near Ukhra town. The plant will employ reverse osmosis (RO) technology to remove impurities from water drawn from the mine pits, which contain contaminants such as residual coal layers on their bottom and walls. Ultraviolet (UV) treatment of the processed water has also been proposed.
The entire RFC Bottling Plant project, according to senior ECL officials, will cost Rs 8 crore. After commissioning and operational training, it is planned to be handed over to self-help groups (SHGs) to ensure sustenance and generate employment in downstream activities. The plant is expected to produce 3,600 one-litre bottles per hour, according to the project report. Sanjay Sahoo, general manager of Bankola Area, ECL, said: “The groundwork for the project has begun, and the DPR (detailed project report) has been forwarded to headquarters for approval.”
Two abandoned open-cast mines at Kumardihi have substantial water reserves, supplemented by the nearby Tumni rivulet and natural water influx during the four monsoon months. Arnab Pahari, environment officer of Bankola Area, told The Statesman: “Our assessment shows that the two abandoned pits have water reserves spread across a surface area of 66,000 square metres with a depth of 250 metres, which will be adequate for the RO plant.” Mining at these pits was suspended in 2010.
At Patansaongi UG Mine under the Saoner Area of Western Coalfields, an RO plant with a capacity of 10,000 litres per hour was installed near Nagpur, Maharashtra, last year. It was here that the idea of Coal Neer was first conceived.
Between 2019 and March 2024, a total of 18,513 lakh kilolitres of mine water were supplied for community purposes, benefitting 37.63 lakh people across 1,055 villages in coal-bearing zones.