Coal Ministry conducts workshop on Environmental & Forest Clearances for coal mining

New Delhi: The Ministry of Coal conducted a day-long workshop on Environmental and Forest Clearances for coal mining on Monday. The event, held in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), was attended by over 175 officials from the Ministry of Coal, MoEFCC, Coal India Limited, SECL, BCCL, ECL, NLCIL, SCCL, NTPC, Coal Controller Organisation, private coal companies, and other experts from the coal mining sectors.

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The Ministry of Coal's Secretary Amrit Lal Meena was the Chief Guest and Additional Secretary & Nominated Authority, Ministry of Coal, M Nagaraju was the Guest of Honor at the event.

In his opening remark, Nagaraju emphasized the vital balance between economic benefits and environmental protection and stressed the need for securing clearances to ensure environmental sustainability.

Meena, in his keynote address, underscored the Coal Ministry’s commitment to sustainability. He highlighted efforts on land restoration and extensive afforestation programs that surpass the areas used for mining activities. The coal companies presented videos on the best practices by their respective organisations in the inaugural session.

Speakers from the MoEFCC shared their comprehensive insights into the regulatory framework, procedural requirements, policy updates, compliance strategies and best practices for obtaining environmental and forest clearance for coal mining projects featuring a series of informative sessions, and interactive discussions.

Thorough presentations were also made for Forest Clearance, Environment Clearance, Wildlife Clearance, Accredited Compensatory Afforestation (ACA), Green Credits & Ground Water Clearance etc, by the officials of MoEFCC & CGWA Board.

Ministry of Coal addressed the challenges being faced in obtaining environmental and forest clearances and demonstrated successful navigation of the clearance processes, emphasizing lessons learned and innovative approaches. The interactive Q&A session provided a platform for the coal companies to have insights and expert views on the challenges being faced in obtaining the clearances. The Interactive panels addressed critical issues such as balancing development and environmental sustainability.

The event concluded with remarks by senior officials, outlining the key takeaways and way forward to further simplify clearance procedures while upholding environmental safeguards.

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