The Ministry of Coal has transferred the Badam coal block, located in the state of Jharkhand, to India’s largest power generating company, NTPC Ltd., on 2 September 2019. The coal block, earlier allocated to Bihar State Power Generation Company (BSPGCL), has been given to NTPC after it acquired the Barauni thermal plant from BSPGCL in December 2018.
With this coal block, NTPC currently possesses 10 coal blocks: Pakri Barwadih, Chatti Bariatu (including Chatti Bariatu-South), Kerandari, Dulanga, Talaipalli, Bhalumuda, Banai, Mandakini-B, Badam and Banhardih (being developed by PVUNL, a JV company of NTPC & state Govt of Jharkhand) coal blocks with a total estimated geological reserves of over 7.3 billion t and production potential of about 113 million tpy.
The company has also made substantial progress in coal mining, and approximately 7.31 million t coal was extracted from Pakri-Barwadih and Dulanga mines in the last financial year. NTPC has set a target to produce 10.4 million t of coal in this financial year.