Parliament passed The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 for amendments in Mines & Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 and The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015. Rajya Sabha passed the bill 0n 12 March, 2020, while Lok Sabha already passed this bill on 6th March, 2020.

The total estimated coal resources in the country is about 326495.63 million tonnes (MT) as per “The inventory of Geological Resources of Indian Coal” (as on 01.04.2019), prepared by the Geological Survey of India.

The Master Plan for dealing with fire, subsidence and rehabilitation in the lease hold of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) was approved on 12th August 2009 by Government of India in which numbers of families residing in unsecure and unsafe areas in coal mines were surveyed.

A near-term transition from coal appears inevitable, towards zero-coal generation by the mid-2030s. However, Poland could seek to delay such a transition, for example to develop new coal mines and extend coal generation into the 2050s.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines informed the Rajya Sabha that the government has approved a Master Plan to be implemented within ten years and two years for pre-implementation activities for the rehabilitation of the people affected by the underground fire and land subsidence in the Jharia Coal area of Jharkhand.