India held its first national-level
workshop on mine closure and land repurposing in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu
¨
India held its first
national-level workshop on mine closure and land repurposing in Neyveli, Tamil
Nadu.
¨
The workshop took place
over two days on February 23 and 24, 2026.
¨
It was organized by the
Ministry of Coal and NLC India Limited.
¨
Union Coal and Mines
Minister G. Kishan Reddy inaugurated the event.
¨
The workshop focused on
structured mine closure planning and also emphasized sustainable post-mining
land repurposing.
¨
The workshop was attended
by 147 nodal officers from mines to be closed.
¨
Representatives from coal
PSUs and private mining companies were present.
¨
Regulators, NGOs,
policymakers, financial institutions, academia, and international organizations
also participated.
¨
The total number of
participants exceeded 500.
¨
The workshop recognized
that 25 mines had been successfully closed using scientific methods.
¨
The Ministry of Coal is
taking initiatives to support community development.
¨
The Ministry released the
RECLAIM framework to guide active community participation. RECLAIM stands for
Reach Out, Envision, Co-create, Localize, Act, Integrate, and Maintain.
¨ The Ministry has also developed an interactive online tool called SUVIKALP.
¨ This tool has been developed to help project proponents identify and implement suitable repurposing projects.
