Coal mining operations at North Eastern Coalfields (NEC), a unit of the world’s largest coal company Coal India Limited (CIL), resumed on Saturday after Union Minister of Coal and Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi inaugurated the operations at Tikak Colliery of NEC at Margherita in Assam’s Tinsukia district.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was also present at the occasion.

Mining operations at NEC were halted in 2020 due to environment-related issues.

Speaking at the occasion, Sarma said, “We are committed to maintaining balance between development and environment. While operationalizing Tikak Colliery, we have ensured that mining activities continue in sync with nature. Assam government has extended all cooperation to CIL in resolving legal, land acquisition and environmental issues.”

“The resumption of mining operations at Tikak Colliery will also open up employment opportunities in this sector and hence is a significant step towards socio-economic development of the region,” Sarma said.

NEC presently operates in Tikak colliery in Margherita, Assam, with two opencast projects (OCPs), namely Tikak OCP and Tikak Extension OCP with a combined coal production capacity of 04 lakh tonne per annum.

Meanwhile, Pralhad Joshi said, “Today we have resumed mining operations at Tikak colliery and it is a very important step towards development of the region. The coal quality of NEC is superior and it is in high demand by several of India’s domestic industries.”

Notably, Tikak Coalfield in Margherita is one of the oldest coalmines in India.

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