Kohima | May 7, 2017: Coal is a major mineral found in Tuensang, Mon, Wokha, Longleng and Mokokchung districts. The estimated potential reserve of coal in Nagaland is 317 million tonnes, according to Nagaland Economic Survey 2016-17.

To regulate and manage the mining of coal in the state, the state government formulated its own coal policy and rules in the year 2006 which was subsequently amended in 2014.

During 2016, the government issued 27 coal mining leases and 12 small pocket deposit leases and collected royalty @ Rs. 290 per tonne from coal producers and transporters.

The report states that the production of coal in Nagaland has seen a steady rise over the years.

With the government issuing more mining leases and small pocket deposit leases, the production of coal in the year 2015-16 increased to 63316 metric tonnes adding revenue to the exchequer.

During 2015-16, the total revenue collected from coal sector was Rs. 1.86 crore (Department of Geology & Mining).

(Source: http://morungexpress.com/)