Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy on Sunday, June 21, 2026, highlighted the Kotma Underground Project in Madhya Pradesh as a model of eco-restoration under the South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), crediting the initiative to the broader environmental vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Context

In his post, the minister stated that the government is 'reclaiming the past and securing a green future,' pointing to the Kotma Underground Project as 'a prime example of the Government's commitment to eco-restoration.' The project involves converting dilapidated mining structures into landscaped public spaces and eco-parks, aiming to restore ecological balance while benefiting local communities.

SECL, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, operates mines across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The Kotma site represents one of its underground coal mining locations now being repurposed under post-mining land-use and environmental rehabilitation frameworks.

Policy Backdrop

The push for eco-restoration at legacy mining sites has roots in Coal India Ltd's mine closure guidelines adopted in 2009 and 2012, which require progressive reclamation of exhausted mines. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, further reinforced environmental safeguards by mandating District Mineral Foundations and structured rehabilitation obligations for mining projects.

Since 2014, the central government has pursued a dual track of expanding coal output to meet energy demand while simultaneously rehabilitating legacy mining sites through public-sector undertakings. Eco-parks and community green spaces at closed or winding-down mines have emerged as a visible component of this approach, tied to corporate environmental responsibility norms and state pollution-control conditions.

Stakeholders and Impact

The Kotma project's stated beneficiaries are local communities in the coal-mining belt of Madhya Pradesh, who gain access to landscaped public spaces in areas previously marked by industrial infrastructure. Eco-restoration of such sites also addresses long-standing concerns about land degradation, dust pollution, and loss of green cover in mining regions.

For SECL and the broader Coal India group, projects of this nature form part of mandatory environmental and social obligations, as well as voluntary corporate social responsibility commitments. The Ministry of Coal and the Ministry of Mines — both held by Kishan Reddy — have signalled that such initiatives will be scaled across other mine sites.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to whether the Ministry of Coal or SECL releases detailed progress reports, timelines, or replication plans for similar eco-restoration efforts at other legacy mine sites across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Any new national guidelines on post-mining land use would mark a significant policy step, potentially setting binding standards for all Coal India subsidiaries.

As India balances its coal dependency with climate commitments, the Kotma model — if formally documented and expanded — could serve as a template for reconciling industrial land use with ecological recovery across the country's mining heartland.