Coal Ministry Scraps Coal Controller Nod for Mine Openings/Restarts; Company Boards Get Approval Power, Timeline May Shrink by ~2 Months
The Coal Ministry has notified the Colliery Control (Amendment) Rules, 2025, amending Rule 9 of the Colliery Control Rules, 2004 to remove the requirement of prior “opening permission” from the Coal Controller’s Organisation (CCO) for opening coal/lignite mines and seams. Under the revised framework, the board of the concerned coal company can approve mine/seam openings (and restarts), provided all requisite clearances from Central/State governments and statutory bodies are already in place.
The ministry has said this change is aimed at cutting procedural duplication and could reduce mine operationalisation time by up to about two months, while keeping accountability at the highest corporate decision-making level. Entities that are not registered as companies (smaller/individual operators) will still need to route approvals through the CCO, and companies must intimate the Coal Controller after board approval as part of continued oversight.