A Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) panel has recommended clearance for the 18-MTPA

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Talaipalli coal-mine project of NTPC in the Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh.

The project had come up for discussion for grant of environmental clearance in the meeting of Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) that was held recently.

"The Committee after discussions recommended the proposal for environmental clearance subject to MoEF circular dated September 9, 2011," the MoEF said on its website.

The ministry had issued a circular in September which stated that projects awaiting environmental clearance would be eligible for consideration even if their application for forest diversion is under consideration.

NTPC had applied for environmental clearance for ensuring a production capacity of 18.72 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from both underground and open cast operations.

The Coal Ministry had allocated the block to NTPC in 2006. One of the conditions of the allocation letter by the Coal Ministry stated that power projects (4,000 MW) based on coal from this block shall commence generation at the latest by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012).

With the development of the coal block getting inordinately delayed, the Ministry had last year issued warnings to the power major.

The warning letter also stated that some of the important milestones, including forest clearance, were pending and no serious efforts had been made by the company to develop the block.