Centre simplifies coal mine approvals by empowering company boards

New Delhi [India]December 26 (ANI): The government of India has officially notified the Colliery Control (Amendment) Rules, 2025 to make it much easier to start coal mining operations.

This new rule changes the law to allow coal companies’ boards of directors to approve the opening of a mine, a seam, or even part of a seam. By making this change, the government hopes to eliminate slow steps and help mines get up and running much faster than before.

According to the press release from the Ministry of Coal, the main purpose of this update is to help the coal sector work better. Before this change, old rules from 2004 required every mine owner to obtain a permit from an office called the Coal Controllers Organisation.

The owners had to wait for this permission not only to open a new mine, but also to start working on the different layers of coal inside the mine. In fact, if a mine was stopped for more than six months, they had to ask for permission again.

The government decided to eliminate the need for this middle step to save time. The Ministry of Coal stated that “the requirement to obtain prior opening permission from the CCO has now been eliminated.” This means coal companies no longer need to wait for the Coal Controller to say yes before starting. Instead, leaders on the coal company’s board now have the authority to give final approval themselves.

Experts believe that this change will be very beneficial to the industry. The ministry noted that this reform “is expected to shorten the mine commissioning time by up to 2 months.” By shortening this 60-day waiting period, coal can be extracted and used in a much shorter time. This also means that people at the top of coal companies are now responsible for making sure everything is done right.

While the rules may be simpler, there are rules to keep things safe and orderly. The new law says a company’s board can approve a mine only after obtaining all necessary permissions from the state and central governments. Once the board gives its approval, the company still has to send the information to the Coal Controllers Organization so the government knows what’s going on.

For small groups that are not established like large companies, the rules remain the same. For these groups, “that approval will continue to be through the CCO.” This allows big companies to move faster while ensuring everyone complies with the law. By transferring this authority to company boards, the government aims to increase coal production and make the regulatory system more efficient. (MOMENT)