Centre to resume Changlang mining

ITANAGAR: The Centre has assured Arunachal Pradesh of resuming coal mining at Namchik-Namphuk coalfield in the troubled Changlang district where the activity was suspended on May 10, 2012.
The assurance came from Union minister of state for coal, power and renewable energy (independent charge) Piyush Goyal during a meeting with chief minister Nabam Tuki in New Delhi on Tuesday, a statement from the PMO said.
At the meeting, Tuki discussed several issues related to power and coal sectors in the state. Goyal asked senior officials of the coal ministry to immediately depute teams for carrying out survey and investigation in other coal-rich areas of the state. He also mooted selling of excess coal produced in the coalfield to National Thermal Power Corporation for increasing the state's revenue.
The government recently suspended coal mining in Arunachal Pradesh on the suspicion that illegal mining was supporting extremists in the state. The Namchik-Namphuk coalfield was allocated to the Arunachal Pradesh Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Ltd (APMDTCL) on October 28, 2003 by the Union ministry of coal.
While briefing the Union minister about various issues related to the hydropower sector, Tuki sought the help of the ministry of power regarding fast tracking of clearances, development of critical infrastructure like roads and bridges for hydropower and local area development near project sites.