The ministry of coal has expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the ongoing work at the Banhardih and Urma Paharitola coal blocks allocated to Jharkhand State Electricity Board under government dispensation route. In a report the ministry mentioned that the utility was not a serious player as it had failed to acquire even the prospecting license for the coal blocks till now.
In its defence JSEB clarified that the progress on the projects was seriously affected due to the presence of Naxalites in the area. However, the SEB insisted that considerable progress had been made.
On the current status of work at the project sites, the utility mentioned that land details had been prepared as per a Geographical Survey of India report and that it had also applied for forest clearance for the Banhardih coal block. JSEB stated that work at Banhardih was also affected due to resistance from the local people. The work would restart only after the state government provided adequate security at the site.
The Urma Paharitola coal block was given jointly to JSEB and Bihar State Mineral Development Corporation for exploration. The memorandum of association for the formation of a joint venture company, Jharbihar Company Ltd, is ready. Work on this project will be taken up after the formation of the company.
The Banhardih coal block was allocated to JSEB in August 2006 while the Urma Paharitola coal block was awarded to the two companies in July 2007.