Hyderabad: The Coal and Mines Consultative Committee meeting held on Thursday discussed issues related to mine closure and mineral exploration.

The meeting was presided over by Union Minister of Coal and Mines, G Kishan Reddy, and the officials briefed on the efforts made in this direction. The committee members made several suggestions on the issues that need to be taken up in the future. Several mining-related issues have been raised. Union Minister Kishan Reddy and officials responded, assuring that they would take steps to resolve them.

The participants appreciated the Center’s initiative on the issue of mine closure. The participating members raised issues regarding re-employment for those who obtained jobs through land allotments for mining. Kishan Reddy stated that they will focus on this matter.

Kishan Reddy stated that his government is dedicated to increasing production, promoting worker welfare, and ensuring environmental protection. He said that his government has taken the initiative in the matter of employee insurance and is providing an additional insurance of Rs. 1 crore to each employee in addition to the existing insurance amount. He stated that various measures are being implemented to prevent accidents.

Minister of State for Coal Mines Satish Chandra Dubey, MPs who are members of the committee, Secretary of the Department of Mines VL Kantarao, senior officials of the Department of Coal and Mines, Coal India Chairman PM Prasad, Singareni CMD Balaram Nayak and various PSUs, including CMDs of these two departments, participated.

Coal India and Singareni later signed agreements with the Heartfulness Center at Kanha Shanti Vanam.

Singareni signed an agreement with Kanha for the construction of a green wall in Ramagundam. Coal India has also signed an agreement to create forest wealth in various coal mine-affected areas of the country.

In an address to the media, Kishan Reddy stated that coal mining has been conducted in various regions of the country since independence. After the coal was taken, the coal blocks were left as it was. No steps were taken to close those blocks in a scientific system and make that land usable again.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting to address the issue of coal mining. During this meeting, he ordered the scientific closure of approximately 143 coal mines in the country, where extraction has already been completed, with a strong emphasis on environmental protection. For this, “we are moving forward with an action plan that will benefit the people there and the farmers. This year alone, we started work in about 10 mines and closed about seven to eight mines. In the coming days, we will close all the remaining 130 mines and take steps to protect the forest and the environment. “We will transform them to be useful for society.” Inspired by the Heartfulness organization’s efforts in Shadnagar to enhance vegetation after the closure of the mines, we are dedicated to increasing greenery for the benefit of society.

To support this initiative, we have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Heartfulness organization.