Bhubaneswar: Odisha demanded the Centre for allocation of coal mines to Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) instead of Coal India Limited (CIL), a subsidiary located outside the State.

In a letter to Union Coal Minister Piyush Goyal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that the coal mines allocation should be allotted to MCL instead of another CIL subsidiary.

Patnaik wrote to the Centre after the Ministry of Coal decided to allot four mines of Odisha namely, Rampia, Dip side of Rampia, Ghogarpalli and Dip extension of Ghogarpalli to Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) instead of MCL, which is already operating several coal mines in Odisha.

"Operationalisation of coal mines requires close coordination with the local administration for land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement of project affected families. The WCL with its headquarters at Nagpur in Maharashtra may not be in position to effectively tackle these issues, which are critical to the smooth operationalisation of coal mines," Patnaik wrote.

"The MCL has achieved a record production of more than 143 million tonnes of coal during the financial year 2017-18 and with a more focused approach towards rehabilitation and settlement of the affected families, it can grow further in partnership with coal communities," he said in the letter.

"In case MCL is unable to handle more coal mines in view of its existing commitments, CIL may consider to set up another subsidiary for Talcher Coalfield and the MCL may further scale up its operations in the Ib Valley region," Patnaik wrote.