New Delhi: South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) has set a new record in Over Burden Removal (OBR) in August 2025. During the recently concluded month, the company achieved 25.17 Million Cubic Meters (MCuM) of OBR, marking the highest-ever OBR for any August month since its inception.
Against the target of 21.17 MCuM set for August 2025, SECL achieved 115.8%. Compared to 13.62 MCuM achieved in August 2024, the company registered an impressive growth of 84.82% this year.
It is noteworthy that in the coal industry, before extracting coal from opencast mines, layers of soil, rocks, and other materials need to be removed, which is referred to as “overburden.” The process of removing it is known as "Over Burden Removal" (OBR). OBR is considered a critical performance parameter as it prepares the coal seams for future production within a shorter timeframe.
SECL has also been promoting the use of blast-free ripper technology in its mega projects for overburden removal. This has enabled safe and environmentally friendly removal of overburden.
It may be mentioned that SECL has been assigned a target of 360 Million Cubic Meters of OBR for the financial year 2025-26, towards which the company is steadily progressing.
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