Coal India working with MOEFCC
CIL says These mine pit water bodies are regularly visited by different species of birds and also has avifauna population
NEW DELHI, June 29 (The CONNECT) - Coal India Limited (CIL) has identified five pit lakes in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh for consideration of including in Ramsar list.
CIL is in process of preparing Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS). These mine pit water bodies are regularly visited by different species of birds and also has avifauna population. The environment around these water bodies has ameliorated due to the efforts of CIL through large scale plantation and other soil moisture conservation activities.
As part of its sustainable activities, Coal India Ltd (CIL) has undertaken conservation of coal mine pit lakes, maintenance of ecological character of wet lands and inclusion of such pit lakes in prestigious Ramsar List with the assistance of respective State Governments and the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC).
The suitability of coal mine pit lakes for inclusion in Ramsar List was discussed with MoEFCC, the nodal Ministry for identification of wet lands for placing on the Ramsar List.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Coal is obtaining support and assistance of World Bank, GIZ and other global institutions for repurposing of abandoned mine sites to make them safe, environmentally stable and suitable for appropriate commercial usage.
Reclaimed lands will be repurposed for economic usage such as solar parks, tourism, sports, forestry, agriculture, horticulture, townships etc.
Vast experience of these institutions in handling mine closure cases in different countries will be highly beneficial and will facilitate adoption of best global practices in repurposing of Indian coal mine sites.
