Centre eases coal mine approvals to boost ease of doing business

The Centre has notified amendments to the Colliery Control Rules, 2004, aimed at simplifying and speeding up the approval process for opening coal and lignite mines, in a move expected to improve ease of doing business and accelerate coal production.

According to a notification issued on Friday, the government has amended Rule 9 of the Colliery Control Rules, doing away with the requirement for mine owners to seek prior permission from the Coal Controller’s Organisation (CCO) for opening a coal or lignite mine, or for opening individual seams or sections of a seam.

Under the earlier framework, coal mine owners were required to obtain clearance from the CCO not only for opening mines and seams, but also for restarting operations if a mine had remained non-operational for 180 days or more. The government said these provisions resulted in procedural redundancies and delays in operationalising mines.

With the amendment, the authority to approve the opening of a mine, seam or section of a seam has been vested with the board of the concerned coal company. The government said this change is expected to reduce the time taken to operationalise a mine by up to two months, while keeping accountability at the highest level of corporate decision-making.

The Coal Ministry said the reform would streamline approvals without diluting regulatory oversight. As safeguards, the amended rules stipulate that a company’s board can approve mine or seam opening only after all requisite approvals from the central and state governments and other statutory bodies have been obtained. In addition, companies will be required to submit information related to mine opening to the CCO.

For entities other than companies, the approval process will continue to be routed through the Coal Controller’s Organisation, the notification clarified.

The government said the changes are part of its broader effort to make the coal sector more business-friendly, eliminate avoidable procedural delays, and improve efficiency in mine development and production. By delegating operational decisions to company boards while retaining statutory checks, the amendment seeks to strike a balance between faster decision-making and regulatory control.

The ministry added that placing responsibility with company boards is also expected to reinforce compliance and governance standards, as approvals will now rest with the highest decision-making authority within coal companies.

The amended rules, titled the Colliery Control (Amendment) Rules, 2025, have been notified in the official gazette and come into effect from the date of publication.