Himanta Biswa Sarma pushes for new mineral extraction, coal expansion in Assam

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy to initiate new mineral extraction during a meeting in Delhi on May 27.

During detailed discussions at the Union Minister's office at Shastri Bhawan, CM Sarma requested Reddy to extract new minerals and build seamless coal linkages to the upcoming thermal power plants in the State.

The chief minister also urged the Union minister to expand the area of operations at the Margherita coal mines to help Assam augment its coal income.

Reddy assured Sarma that he would look into the requirements of Assam in the crucial coal and mines sector to refuel the economy.

"The discussion focused on harnessing Assam's mineral potential and strengthening cooperation in the mining sector," said CMO Assam in its official X handle.

Officials from Coal and Mines pointed out that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) recently approved revisions to the country's Shakti Policy, setting off coal sector reforms that aim to transparently allocate coal to thermal power plants, while simplifying the processes around it.

This comes against the backdrop of India's double achievement of surpassing 1 billion tonnes in coal production and despatch in 2024-2025.

The meeting with senior officials from the Ministry of Coal and Mines was attended by Assam Chief Secretary Dr. Ravi Kota, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Dr. KK Dwivedi, and Resident Commissioner, Assam Bhawan, New Delhi, Kavitha Padmanabhan.

During the day, the chief minister also had a productive discussion with Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar on strengthening Assam’s energy infrastructure.

"We deliberated on ensuring resource adequacy and accelerating the development of new power plants across the state," CM Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on his X handle.