Coal Ministry Launches SUVIKALP Mine Repurposing Tool

The Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), which works under the Ministry of Coal, has developed SUVIKALP, a mine repurposing tool meant to turn closed and abandoned mines into productive assets. It is a digital decision-support platform, and it has been aligned with the Mining Plan Guidelines for Coal and Lignite Mine, 2025. The thinking behind it is that a mining company's duty to a mining region does not end the day digging stops: the land left behind has to be put to use, the environment restored and local livelihoods secured.

How the tool decides

SUVIKALP pulls geo-mining features, environmental conditions, availability of infrastructure, resource limits, financial factors and socio-economic conditions into one platform. A user builds a site profile by entering details of the particular mine, and the tool then tests which fresh uses that site could support. The ranking is done by a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making method built on TOPSIS, short for Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution, so that options can be compared against many parameters at once and the advice stays transparent and evidence-based. The sequence runs from choosing the factors, to generating possible options, to folding in community priorities, to assessing suitability, and finally to ranking.

Two frameworks inside it

• RECLAIM, the Community Engagement and Development Framework, carries local preferences into the evaluation, so that redevelopment matches local needs for jobs, livelihoods, infrastructure and long-term benefit.
• PRISM, the Post-Mining Repurposing Implementation Strategic Model, takes the platform past ranking into implementation: project vision, repurposing strategy, investment dynamics, strategic structuring and monitoring. It is backed by a knowledge store of concept notes, Indian and foreign case studies, sample tender papers, details of implementing agencies and best-practice material.

What comes next

The next phase is about adoption and delivery. The listed priorities are wider use of the platform across closed and abandoned coal and lignite mines; turning its recommendations into site-specific feasibility studies, concept notes and detailed project reports; closer coordination between government, industry, experts and implementing agencies; mobilising investment for viable projects; sharing best practices and building the capacity of stakeholders; and monitoring implementation while measuring environmental, economic and community gains. The long-term aim is to grow SUVIKALP into a scalable national knowledge and decision-support system that can be adapted to different mining conditions and regional needs, so that the legacy of mining becomes an opportunity for restoration, economic diversification and steady regional development rather than a set of abandoned pits.