Lok Sabha Question No. 4234 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: Sustainable Coal Mining Practices
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Shri Imran Masood

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †4234

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.03.2025

## Sustainable Coal Mining Practices

## †4234. Shri Imran Masood:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a) the measures taken by the Union Government under Mission Life to promote sustainable and environment friendly coal mining practices;
- (b) the details of budgetary outlay made to fund research and development (R&D) in the coal sector during the last five years;
- (c) the details of coal mines abandoned, closed or discontinued by Coal India Limited (CIL) during the last five years; and
- (d) the details of the technologies being adopted by CIL in its underground and opencast mines so as to enhance sustainability and efficiency?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF COAL AND MINES (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

- (a) Coal and Lignite Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), namely Coal India Limited (CIL), NLC India Limited (NLCIL), and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), under the guidance of the Ministry of Coal have implemented 10 Actions items under various categories of Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) action to promote sustainable and environmentfriendly coal mining practices under Mission LiFE as indicated in the Annexure - 1 .
- (b) The budgetary outlay for funding Research and Development (R&D) in coal sector during the last five years is given in the table below:
- (c) The  details  of  coal  mines  which  are  abandoned,  closed  or  discontinued  by  Coal  India Limited (CIL) during the last five years are given in the Annexure - 2 .

| Year    |   Budgetary Outlay (in ₹ Crores) |   Actual Released (in ₹ Crores) |
|---------|----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| 2019-20 |                               22 |                           18.78 |

| 2020-21   |   12.00 |   9.97 |
|-----------|---------|--------|
| 2021-22   |   11.5  |   8.35 |
| 2022-23   |    8.35 |   6.94 |
| 2023-24   |   18    |  18    |

(d) The  technologies  adopted  by  CIL  in  its  underground  and  opencast  mines  to  enhance sustainability and efficiency are as under:

- Surface Miner to eliminate the drilling, blasting, and crushing operations in opencast mines.
- Xcentric rippers for blast-less overburden removal.
- Continuous miner and High wall mining as blast-free technology in underground mines
- 'First Mile Connectivity' projects to minimize road transportation.
- Water sprinklers and Fog canons to mitigate air pollution.
- Drills fitted with wet drilling and dust extractors to control the generation of dust.
- Dedicated coal corridors for coal transportation.
- Effluent treatment plants for the treatment of workshop effluent & coal handling plant.

*****

Annexure - 1

## Actions to Promote Sustainable and Environment-friendly Coal Mining Practices under

## Mission LiFE

|   Sl. No. | Category of Mission LiFE Action   | Mission LiFE Action Items                                                                                            |
|-----------|-----------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Energy Saved                      | 1. Use of LED bulbs/ tube-lights                                                                                     |
|         1 | Energy Saved                      | 2. Prefer CNG/ EV vehicle over petrol/ diesel vehicles                                                               |
|         1 | Energy Saved                      | 3. Install a solar system on rooftops                                                                                |
|         2 | Water Saved                       | 4. Participate in recharge of rural water bodies including development of Mining voids for water conservation.       |
|         2 | Water Saved                       | 5. Create rainwater harvesting infrastructure in homes/ schools/ offices                                             |
|         3 | Single Use Plastic Reduced        | 6. Use cloth bags for shopping instead of plastic bags                                                               |
|         3 | Single Use Plastic Reduced        | 7. Participate in and mobilize participation for clean-up drives of coal mining townships/ villages and water bodies |
|         4 | Healthy Lifestyles Adopted        | 8. Start biodiversity conservation at community level by developing of Eco-Parks and mining tourism sites.           |
|         4 | Healthy Lifestyles Adopted        | 9. Plant trees to reduce the impact of pollution                                                                     |
|         5 | E-Waste Reduced                   | 10. Discard gadgets in nearest e-recycling units                                                                     |

Annexure - 2 Details of abandoned, closed or discontinued Coal Mines in CIL during the Last Five

Years

|   Sl. No. | State          | Name of Subsidiary   | Name of Coal Mine                  | Status of Coal Mine   |
|-----------|----------------|----------------------|------------------------------------|-----------------------|
|         1 | Assam          | NEC                  | Ledo Opencast                      | Abandoned             |
|         2 | Assam          | NEC                  | Tikak Opencast                     | Discontinued          |
|         3 | Assam          | NEC                  | Tipong Underground                 | Abandoned             |
|         4 | Assam          | NEC                  | Tirap Opencast                     | Discontinued          |
|         5 | Chhattisgarh   | SECL                 | Bishrampur Opencast                | Abandoned             |
|         6 | Chhattisgarh   | SECL                 | Mahamaya Underground               | Discontinued          |
|         7 | Chhattisgarh   | SECL                 | Mahan Opencast                     | Discontinued          |
|         8 | Chhattisgarh   | SECL                 | Pawan Underground                  | Abandoned             |
|         9 | Chhattisgarh   | SECL                 | Surakachhar 3&4 Underground        | Discontinued          |
|        10 | Chhattisgarh   | SECL                 | Surakachhar Main Mine Underground  | Discontinued          |
|        11 | Jharkhand      | CCL                  | Piparwar Opencast                  | Abandoned             |
|        12 | Jharkhand      | CCL                  | Sarubera Underground               | Abandoned             |
|        13 | Jharkhand      | CCL                  | Urimari Underground                | Abandoned             |
|        14 | Jharkhand      | ECL                  | Gopinathpur Opencast & Underground | Discontinued          |
|        15 | Madhya Pradesh | SECL                 | Jamuna RO (1&2) Underground        | Abandoned             |
|        16 | Madhya Pradesh | SECL                 | Kapildhara Underground             | Abandoned             |
|        17 | Madhya Pradesh | SECL                 | New Amlai Underground              | Abandoned             |
|        18 | Madhya Pradesh | SECL                 | Pinoura Underground                | Abandoned             |
|        19 | Madhya Pradesh | WCL                  | Barkuhi Opencast                   | Abandoned             |
|        20 | Madhya Pradesh | WCL                  | Bharat (Ghorawari-2) Opencast      | Discontinued          |
|        21 | Madhya Pradesh | WCL                  | Damua Opencast                     | Abandoned             |
|        22 | Madhya Pradesh | WCL                  | Ganpati Underground                | Abandoned             |
|        23 | Madhya Pradesh | WCL                  | Ghorawari/Jharna Underground       | Abandoned             |
|        24 | Madhya Pradesh | WCL                  | Mohan Phase-IV Opencast            | Discontinued          |
|        25 | Madhya Pradesh | WCL                  | New Sethia Opencast                | Abandoned             |

|   Sl. No. | State          | Name of Subsidiary   | Name of Coal Mine                     | Status of Coal Mine   |
|-----------|----------------|----------------------|---------------------------------------|-----------------------|
|        26 | Madhya Pradesh | WCL                  | Shobhapur Underground                 | Abandoned             |
|        27 | Madhya Pradesh | WCL                  | Vishnupuri-I Underground              | Discontinued          |
|        28 | Maharashtra    | WCL                  | AB-Incline Underground                | Discontinued          |
|        29 | Maharashtra    | WCL                  | CRC Underground                       | Abandoned             |
|        30 | Maharashtra    | WCL                  | Mahakali Underground                  | Abandoned             |
|        31 | Maharashtra    | WCL                  | Manna Underground                     | Abandoned             |
|        32 | Maharashtra    | WCL                  | Murpar Underground                    | Abandoned             |
|        33 | Maharashtra    | WCL                  | Padmapur Opencast                     | Abandoned             |
|        34 | Maharashtra    | WCL                  | Pipla Underground                     | Discontinued          |
|        35 | Maharashtra    | WCL                  | Sarni Underground                     | Abandoned             |
|        36 | Maharashtra    | WCL                  | Sasti Underground                     | Abandoned             |
|        37 | Odisha         | MCL                  | Orient Colliery, Mine no. Underground | Discontinued          |
|        38 | West Bengal    | ECL                  | Chinakuri I Underground               | Discontinued          |
|        39 | West Bengal    | ECL                  | Jemehari Underground                  | Discontinued          |
|        40 | West Bengal    | ECL                  | Kalipahari Underground                | Discontinued          |
|        41 | West Bengal    | ECL                  | S S Incline Underground               | Discontinued          |
|        42 | West Bengal    | ECL                  | Sodepur (R) Underground               | Discontinued          |