In a recent review meeting to assess the coal sector in the country, the Home Minister called for a coordinated, technology-driven security strategy backed by swift enforcement.

According to a senior MHA official, the Home Minister, while chairing a high-level review meeting with Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy, emphasised the need for a comprehensive and time-bound response to illegal mining and unauthorised coal transportation.

“The Home Minister instructed the CISF to set up Quick Response Teams (QRTs) and establish a multi-layered security grid in vulnerable areas to enable immediate action whenever intelligence on illegal mining is received,” the official said.

The meeting was attended by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt, and senior officials from the Ministry of Coal, CISF, Coal India Limited (CIL) and Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).

Illegal Coal Mining

The MHA official said that Shah expressed concern over the growing incidence of illegal coal mining and theft in Dhanbad and adjoining areas. “While welcoming the recent decision to authorise CISF and Coal India officials to act under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, the Home Minister said the enhanced powers must be enforced rigorously and in close coordination.”

The new authorisation empowers the CISF and the Coal India officials to register cases before courts, enter premises suspected of storing illegally mined coal, conduct search and seizure operations and confiscate illegally extracted coal along with equipment, machinery and vehicles used in such activities.

The Home Minister also underlined that these powers should be exercised strictly in accordance with the approved Standard Operating Procedure to ensure an effective crackdown on illegal mining networks, the official said.

Curbing Illegal Mining

To strengthen enforcement further, Shah directed the Home Secretary to include the coal sector in the priority list for CISF deployment, allowing security personnel to be stationed quickly in identified vulnerable locations, the official said, adding that directions were also issued to the Ministry of Coal to regularly review the implementation of measures taken to curb illegal mining and ensure continuous monitoring of the action plan.

Seeking to tighten checks on the illegal movement of coal, directions were also issued in the meeting to involve Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities in monitoring coal transportation, and the authorities were directed to establish a mechanism for verifying e-way bills for every consignment of coal in transit to ensure that only legally mined coal reaches consumers and to deter the movement of illegally extracted coal.

“Clear directions were issued for greater use of technology in surveillance and enforcement by leveraging high-resolution cameras installed at Integrated Command and Control Centres to identify illegal mining hotspots and track individuals involved in such activities,” the MHA official said.

On their part, officers from the Ministry of Coal informed the meeting that several measures had already been initiated following a review held in the first week of October 2025. They said progress on curbing illegal mining had been monitored through subsequent reviews, including a high-level meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary in December 2025.

During that meeting, key decisions were taken, including the creation of a Coal Sector Coordination Committee to improve coordination among enforcement agencies. Officials informed Shah that the committee has since been constituted and is working to streamline action against illegal mining and coal theft.