Seeking to enhance ease of doing business and early operationalisation of coal and lignite blocks, the Ministry of Coal Monday revised the approval mechanism for the same, wherein blocks are no longer required to seek the assent of the committee constituted by it in 2022 to evaluate and accord approval.

The erstwhile mechanism required exploration programmes and geological reports for coal and lignite blocks, prepared by accredited prospecting agencies (APA), to receive the approval of the committee constituting members of the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI), among others, before operationalisation. The latest notification does away with the requirement. Henceforth, the paradigm would have to be peer-reviewed by another APA. 

The ministry estimates the revision would translate to three months being saved in the approval process of the geological report, thus resulting in “early operationalisation of the block and facilitating the coal block allottees in timely completion of the milestones.”

“The reform is expected to accelerate exploration, reduce approval timelines, and contribute to the long-term security and sustainable utilisation of India’s coal resources,” the ministry stated.