From coal pits to solar parks: India looks to give abandoned mines a second life

India is looking to turn its closed and abandoned coal mines into productive assets, with reclaimed land being considered for renewable energy, eco-parks, water conservation, agriculture and community infrastructure. The effort, according to coal ministry officials, is aimed at finding new economic uses for mining areas after extraction ends. "So far, the government has identified 147 coal mines for closure, of which at least 26 will be taken up for repurposing. More are in the pipeline," said one of the officials. Mine closure involves sealing underground openings, demolishing redundant infrastructure, treating subsidence areas and reclaiming land.

Plans require safety and rehabilitation work to begin before extraction ends. "The economic question is what happens to communities when a mine that supported jobs and local businesses shuts. Union minister G Kishan Reddy has conveyed that mine closure should not be perceived as the end of mining activity, but rather as the beginning of renewed socio-economic opportunities for communities in mining regions," said a second ministry official. A tool to chart the future of closed mines Against this backdrop, the Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), under the Ministry of Coal, on November 3 launched SUVIKALP, a digital decision-support tool developed to identify suitable uses for closed and abandoned coal and lignite mines.