Chatti-Bariatu Mine

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The Chatti-Bariatu coal mine is a proposed 7 million tons-per-annum (MTPA) coal mine in Jharkhand state, India.

Location

The map below shows the location of Hazaribagh District, the approximate location of the mine, in Jharkhand State.

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Background on Mine

The Chatti-Bariatu coal mine has been proposed by state-run National Thermal Power Corporation for the eastern state of Jharkhand. In February 2013 the company's board approved an investment of 13.15 billion rupees to develop the mine, at a projected production of 7.0 million metric tons of coal annually. In tandem with the mine purchase, NTPC also said it will invest in the development of an unnamed 1600 MW power plant in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

The coal block had been allotted to NTPC by the federal government a few years previous to the decision. The government in 2011 cancelled the license as the company had not started mining, but in January 2013 reallocated the block to NTPC.

In May 2014, NTPC stated that it planned to begin production at Chatti-Bariatu by March 2015; however, the company has a history of setting production goals for coal mine development that it then later ignores, and one month later, in June 2014, NTPC gave June 2016 as a goal for the beginning of production. As of the end of March 2015, production had apparently not yet begun at Chatti-Bariatu.

In May 2016 Ajsu Party leader Loknath Mahto initiated a series of protests, including "chita satyagrah" (pyre sit) protests by community leaders, to protest violent police repression of villagers opposing the mine.

"Local residents are terrified these days with police using force and cane power to strangle peaceful protests. They (police) had shot and injured six villagers on August 14 last year to crush an agitation. On April 14 this year, they beat up villagers protesting peacefully. The police resorted to lathi charge again on May 2 and May 5, leaving several men and women injured," he asked.

NTPC, India’s largest electricity producer, has terminated contracts it had awarded to BGR Mining & Infra Ltd for development of its coal mines in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh over allegations of corruption against senior officials of the private mining company. NTPC has terminated contracts for development and operation of Chatti-Bariatu coal mine in Jharkhand and Talaipalli coal mine in Chhattisgarh, according to two separate letters dated July 4, 2019 sent by the state-owned company.

Project Details

• Sponsor: National Thermal Power Corporation
• Parent company: Government of India
• Location: Hazaribagh District, Jharkhand State, India
• Coordinates: 24, 85.36 (approximate)
• Status: Cancelled
• Capacity: 7 MTPA
• Reserves: 193 MT
• Proposed in service:
• Permits:
• Coal type:
• Mining method:
• Source of financing:

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch articles

• NTPC
• India and coal

External Articles

• Ministry of Coal, "Coal Mining in India: The Past", Ministry of Coal website, accessed June 2008.
• Ministry of Coal, 2007-2008 Annual Report", Government of India Ministry of Coal. (Large Pdf)
• International Energy Agency, "Coal in India in 2005", International Energy Agency website, accessed June 2008.
• U.S. Geological Survey, India 1994-2006
• "India", World Coal Institute, undated, accessed June 2008.
• Country Profile: Focus on India", Ecoal, World Coal Institute, July 2006.
• Abhay Singh and Pratik Parija, "Coal India Seeks Faster Approvals, Imports, Overseas Miners", Bloomberg, July 1, 2009.