Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy on Thursday, 4 June 2026 announced the scientific mine closure of the Chhendipada Open Cast Project (OCP) in Odisha's Angul district, framing it as a milestone in ecological restoration aligned with the Prime Minister's sustainable development vision. In a post on X, the minister said the reclaimed site now hosts thousands of saplings and a dedicated water recharge zone, signalling a shift from extraction to regeneration in India's coal heartland.

'Aligned with Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji's vision for sustainable development, the scientific mine closure of the Chhendipada Open Cast Project (OCP) marks a significant milestone in ecological restoration,' the minister wrote. He added that the project had 'reclaimed 13.6 hectares of mined land, planted over 64,350 saplings, and developed a 5-hectare water recharge zone, transforming a former mining site into a thriving green ecosystem.' The post tagged the Ministry of Mines, the Ministry of Coal and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, the Coal India subsidiary that operates the block.

Context

The Chhendipada OCP sits in the coal-rich Talcher belt of Angul, one of the largest coal-producing clusters in the country. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Coal India, runs multiple open-cast operations in the region and is mandated to execute mine closure plans for blocks that have completed their productive life.

Scientific mine closure is a regulated process that requires backfilling of voids, technical and biological reclamation of overburden dumps, creation of water bodies and long-term monitoring. The Chhendipada announcement positions the project as a template for closures planned across the company's ageing pits.

Policy backdrop

India's National Mineral Policy 2019 made scientific mine closure, progressive reclamation and third-party environmental audits binding for all mineral concessions, including coal. The Ministry of Coal followed up in 2021 with revised guidelines for Mine Closure Plans, requiring measurable ecological restoration targets and the development of water bodies before final closure certificates can be issued.

Closure plans are funded through an escrow mechanism into which lessees deposit a per-hectare sum during the life of the mine, drawing down only on certified progress. The framework was designed to prevent the legacy problem of abandoned, unrehabilitated pits that scar coalfield districts.

Stakeholders and impact

For residents of Angul, the closure carries direct consequences. Reclaimed plantations and a recharge zone can stabilise local groundwater, reduce dust loads and create the basis for community use of the land once liabilities are transferred.

For Mahanadi Coalfields Limited and parent Coal India Limited, certified closures help meet environmental compliance obligations and ease the path for fresh project approvals elsewhere. State pollution control boards and district administrations are the key verifying authorities, alongside independent auditors empanelled under the closure guidelines.

The broader pattern is unmistakable: India's coal sector, long defined by output targets, is being reshaped by parallel mandates on afforestation, water-body creation and livelihood generation for project-affected families. Similar reclamation efforts have been reported across Coal India subsidiaries in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

What's next

Attention will turn to the next annual Mine Closure Status Report from the Ministry of Coal, which tracks how many blocks have moved through technical and final closure stages, and any fresh guidance on using the mine closure fund for community development in Odisha. Independent verification of the saplings, reclaimed hectarage and recharge zone at Chhendipada will be central to whether the site stands up as a replicable model.

With India committed to a net-zero pathway by 2070 and coal still anchoring base-load power, the political signal from the minister is that extraction and ecological restoration must now be planned together rather than in sequence.