Coal India Ltd is holding talks with residents opposed to a mine expansion that would create one of the world’s largest operations producing the fuel.
Protests against plans for the Gevra site in the eastern province of Chhattisgarh threaten to complicate the company’s ability to win approvals to expand annual capacity to 70 million tonnes.
Output at that volume would see the site become the single biggest global source of the fossil fuel, according to Coal India.
Rising power demand has pushed India to prioritise energy security and boost output of coal, which continues to account for about 70 per cent of electricity generation.
