Coal Ministry to Launch RECLAIM Framework for Sustainable Mine Closure.
National
On July 4, 2025, Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy launched RECLAIM—an innovative mine closure framework—at a ceremony in New Delhi. The name stands for Reach‑Out, Envision, Co‑design, Localise, Act, Integrate, Maintain. Developed by the Coal Controller Organisation with the Heartfulness Institute, RECLAIM focuses on community-driven and sustainable mine decommissioning and post-closure planning.
- RECLAIM provides a seven-step roadmap to embed community engagement throughout mine closure and repurposing phases. It formalises local participation in decision-making, ensuring mining-affected populations have a say in land recovery, livelihood restoration, and ecological remediation, strengthening both procedural transparency and social equity.
- The framework places strong emphasis on gender inclusion and the representation of vulnerable groups, ensuring women, tribals, and other marginalised communities are actively included in planning. It further links its processes with Panchayati Raj Institutions, reinforcing local governance and accountability in the closure process.
Main Point :- (i) RECLAIM delivers a suite of practical tools, templates, and field-tested methods tailor-made for India’s varied mining contexts. Priorities include ecological restoration—such as afforestation, water table rejuvenation, and converting former mines into eco-parks or farmland—thus transforming closed mines into sustainable community assets.
(ii) The framework supports the development of alternative livelihoods, promoting skill-building, capacity development, and income-generation initiatives to reduce communities’ dependence on mining. This just transition underscores the objective to convert mine closure into an opportunity for economic diversification in coal-dependent regions.
(iii) Backed by the Ministry of Coal, RECLAIM sets a national benchmark in responsible mine closure and is aligned with global best practices. By integrating sustainability, social justice, and environmental recovery, it complements India’s climate adaptation goals and the just transition agenda for sectors facing phase-out.
About Ministry of Coal (MoC)
Minister : Shri G. Kishan Reddy
Headquarters: New Delhi
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