Coal and lignite mining

Reclaimed dumps that stay green past the review

We plan, plant and care for trees on overburden dumps, backfill, green belts and eco-parks for three years, with every tree geo-tagged.

Plan a programme What applies to you

400+ companies plant with us · 85% survival, program-wide · 14 states across India

Planting day handled

Site, saplings, tools and safety

85% survival

program-wide, geo-tag verified

400+ companies

plant with us

14 states

across India

Quick answer

What does a coal mining company need from plantation and restoration?

A coal or lignite company needs plantation for biological reclamation of overburden dumps and mined-out land under its mine closure plan, for plantation and green belt conditions in its environmental clearance, and for greening and community work around the coalfield. Ministry of Coal guidelines tie closure work to an escrow account and five-yearly reviews, with third-party and satellite monitoring. Coal PSUs have set a plantation target of about 15,350 ha for FY 2024-25 to 2028-29.

Companies planting with us

Real programmes, in our clients' own words.

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See all corporate films →

What we deliver

Services for coal and mining companies

Planted, cared for for three years and reported on GreenTrack.

Overburden dump reclamation

Slope-ready ground cover, layered native planting, drip watering and three years of care on dumps and backfill.

Read the dump guide →

Mine closure support

Biological reclamation for progressive and final closure plans, with records that support escrow release.

Mine closure guide →

Green belts and Miyawaki

Dense native belts along roads, colonies and lease boundaries for dust, noise and shade.

Green belt guide →

Eco-parks and void lakes

Native forest blocks, grassland and planted water edges for eco-parks on mined-out land.

Eco-park guide →

Farmer agroforestry (CSR)

Fruit and timber trees on farmers' land near the mine; farmers keep the fruit and timber income.

Agroforestry around mines →

GreenTrack monitoring

Geo-tagged trees, yearly survival counts and photos for closure, CSR and BRSR reports.

Monitoring guide →

How a programme works

Five steps, from the site survey to reports your compliance and BRSR teams can use.

Site survey and duties check
Species and planting plan
Planting with our team
Three years of care
GreenTrack reports

What you get

Site and species plan
Geo-tagged trees
Survival checks and replacement
Photos and field records
Reports for compliance and BRSR
Digital forest page

Programmes that fit

Pick the programme that suits your land, region and goals.

Projects across India

Every pin is a project with its own digital forest. Filter by programme or state, or search for a company.

Pins show the approximate area of each project, not exact plot locations. Updated 2026-10-07.

Trusted by 400+ companies

Programmes we have run

How companies planted with us, and what they got.

From the field

Planting, care and growth on our project sites.

Village women planting saplings at a Grow Billion Trees plantation drive

Employees planting and watering saplings at a corporate plantation drive

Corporate team group photo at a Grow Billion Trees plantation site

Freshly dug pits and saplings in rows at a plantation site

Volunteers planting saplings across a large plantation site

Community members kneeling to plant saplings along drip lines

Volunteers planting saplings beside drip irrigation lines

Large group planting trees together at a corporate plantation drive

People planting saplings across an open plantation site

Transparency

Check any tree we planted for you

Every tree we plant is geo-tagged and gets a certificate. Enter a certificate or order number to see it.

Have a certificate? Check your trees

Enter the number from your certificate or order email.

Plantation and restoration for coal mining: what applies

A coal or lignite mine carries plantation duties from several sources. The table sets out the main ones and where plantation genuinely helps.

Rule	What it asks	How plantation helps	Source
Mine closure plan (Ministry of Coal guidelines, 2009; revised 2013 and 2020)	Progressive and final closure plans, physical and biological reclamation, escrow deposits, yearly report before 1 July	Yes: plantation on backfill and dumps is the biological reclamation the plan and escrow release depend on	Ministry of Coal: Mine closure guidelines, 2013
Environmental clearance plantation conditions	Plantation on external overburden dumps and reclaimed degraded forest and non-forest land, plus green belts	Yes: this is plantation work, done to the EC conditions	PIB: Green cover around coalfields, Dec 2024
Safety zone on forest-land leases (MoEFCC, 2014)	7.5 m boundary strip kept as green belt, plus afforestation on degraded forest land of 1.5× its area	Yes: regeneration of the strip and the off-site afforestation	MoEFCC: Safety zone guidelines, Jul 2014
Coal PSU greening target	About 15,350 ha of plantation in FY 2024-25 to 2028-29, in and around coalfields	Yes: plantation, three-tier reclamation, eco-parks and green belts	Ministry of Coal: Greening initiatives
District Mineral Foundation spending (PMKKKY, 2024)	At least 70% on high-priority sectors, including environment, livelihoods and agriculture with agroforestry	Indirectly: DMFs decide spending; company CSR agroforestry can complement DMF plans	Ministry of Mines: Revised PMKKKY guidelines, 2024

Start biological reclamation in the first phase

The 2013 guidelines ask for phased mining, with afforestation on the first phase's mined-out land while mining moves to the next. Reclamation and afforestation should proceed alongside mining as far as possible.

Satellite reports often show large areas of barren backfill. Backfill without vegetation is not yet reclaimed land, and it does not help an escrow release. Our overburden dump guide sets out a sequence that works.

Treat survival as the measure

Progressive closure plans are reviewed every five years, with third-party monitoring and satellite mapping. Reviewers check living cover, not sapling counts.

Geo-tagged records, yearly survival counts and fixed-point photos give a record that matches what the satellite shows. See monitoring mine reclamation.

Decide the end use early

Forest, eco-park, water body or community farmland each need a different planting plan. The Ministry of Coal targets 34 new eco-parks or mine tourism sites from 2024-25 to 2028-29.

Around the mine, farmer agroforestry for CSR gives villages lasting income from fruit and timber. See eco-parks in coalfields and community agroforestry around mines.

Questions coal and mining companies ask

How much green belt does our site need?

It depends on your environmental clearance. Older clearances often set 33% of the area; for new and pending applications, a ministry memorandum of 29 October 2025 sets minimums from 10% to 40% by category. Work out your area and trees with our green belt calculator.

Is plantation part of a coal mine closure plan?

Yes. Ministry of Coal guidelines require physical and biological reclamation of mined-out land, and list biological reclamation of left-out overburden dumps as a closure cost.

How is coal mine closure funded?

Through an escrow account with the Coal Controller as beneficiary. Under the 2013 guidelines, up to 80% can be released every five years against actual progressive closure spending.

Which trees grow on coal overburden?

Indian studies report good results from native legumes such as shisham and safed siris, plus neem and gamhar. Species are fixed after a site survey. See our dump guide.

Can reclamation plantations earn carbon credits?

We do not sell carbon credits from these plantations. Any carbon figure is an estimate for voluntary reporting. See our CCTS guide.

Do you work with farmers near coal mines?

Yes, through CSR agroforestry on farmers' own land. Farmers keep the fruit and timber income, and our model aims for up to 3× farm income compared with conventional two-crop farming.

How do you prove survival?

Every tree is geo-tagged on GreenTrack, with yearly survival counts and photos. We report 85% survival across our programmes.

What does reclamation cost?

Reclamation, green belts and eco-park planting are priced per project after a site survey. A ₹299 tree, used in CSR and farmer programmes, is a 2-3 ft sapling planted, cared for three years and geo-tagged.

Guides to read

Background reading from our blog, picked for this topic.

Visit the learning centre

Questions people ask

All questions on this topic

Reclaimed dumps that stay green past the review

What does a coal mining company need from plantation and restoration?

Companies planting with us