1344 community welfare in mining-affected regions. Monitoring, audit, and continuous improvement mechanisms provide the feedback loop for effective implementation of the EMF. Environmental performance is tracked through real-time ambient air quality monitoring stations, periodic water and noise quality monitoring, and satellite-based land-use assessment. Compliance assurance is achieved through internal and third-party environmental audits, statutory inspections, and periodic management reviews. Supported by stakeholder engagement, transparent disclosure, and gradual adoption of cleaner and renewable energy technologies, CIL’s Environmental Management Framework follows a Plan–Do–Check–Act approach, enabling continuous improvement and progressive transition towards sustainable and low-carbon mining operations. The Environmental Management Framework of Coal India Limited is depicted at Figure 87. Figure 87 – Environmental Management Framework of Coal India Limited 3. SUSTAINABLE MINING PRACTICES Sustainable mining practices emphasize minimizing land degradation and ensuring ecological restoration concurrently with mining operations rather than postponing remediation until mine closure. Concurrent backfilling, progressive reclamation, bio-reclamation, and geo-technical stabilization together form the foundation of sustainable land management in opencast mining. Concurrent backfilling utilizes overburden from active benches to refill mined-out voids, reducing external dump height, stabilizing terrain, and enabling early land restoration. Progressive reclamation restores exhausted pits and stabilized dumps alongside ongoing mining through reshaping, top-soiling, and vegetation, improving soil quality, reducing erosion, and enabling early post-mining land use. Bioreclamation enhances ecological recovery through native and nitrogen-fixing species, while geotechnical stabilization ensures slope stability, effective drainage, and long-term environmental and operational safety (Coal India Limited, 2025; Dhar et al., 2018; Ghose, 2004; Singh & Dhar, 2019).
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