Parliament Question: Star Rating Policy for Coal and Lignite Mines

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2789 ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 STAR RATING POLICY FOR COAL AND LIGNITE MINES

2789. Shri Manish Jaiswal:

Shri Radheshyam Rathiya:

Shri Yogender Chandolia:

Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat:

Shri Mukeshkumar Chandrakaant Dalal:

Shri Amar Sharadrao Kale:

Shri P P Chaudhary:

Shri Ramesh Awasthi:

Shri Manoj Tiwari:

Shri Godam Nagesh:

Smt. Aparajita Sarangi:

Shri Vishnu Dayal Ram:

Shri Praveen Patel:

Shri Rahul Singh Lodhi:

Shri Janardan Mishra:

Shri Anil Firojiya:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

(a) the progress made in implementation of the Star Rating Policy for coal and lignite mines including the distribution of mines across different star ratings;

(b) the measures taken by the Government to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the self- evaluation and validation process under the policy;

(c) the impact of the policy on improving safety, environmental performance and sustainable mining practices;

(d) the measures taken by the Government to encourage higher compliance and adoption of best practices among coal and lignite mines; and

(e) the current status of self-evaluation and star rating of coal and lignite mines during the latest assessment cycle? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL & MINES (SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY)

(a): Star Rating Policy has been implemented for coal and lignite mines with effect from Financial Year (FY) 2018-19. During the first year (FY 2018-19) of implementation of the policy, 357 mines participated while 382 mines participated during the last assessment year, i.e. FY 2024-25. The result of Star Rating since its inception is enclosed at Annexure.

1(b): To ensure transparency and accuracy in self-evaluation and subsequent validation by Coal Controller's Organisation (CCO), a dedicated web portal has been put in place for evaluation of Star Rating for each type of mine i.e. underground (UG), opencast (OC) and mixed mines.

The Star Rating process proceeds through three distinct stages of evaluation, all managed through the web portal. At the first stage, the respective mine chooses eligible marks against each evaluation parameter in the web portal. During the second stage (review by reviewers), 10% of the highest scoring mines, in each category (OC mines, UG mines and mixed mines), are validated through physical inspection by a validation Committee constituted by CCO, HQ, having four members. Remaining 90% of mines are validated online by CCO officers from cross-regional offices based on the documents uploaded by the mines against each evaluation parameter. In the third and final stage of review, Controller review is done at CCO, HQ. Based on the assessment in Controller review at CCO, HQ, the result of Star Rating is declared by the Ministry of Coal.

(c): The Star Rating Policy evaluates coal and lignite mines across seven key parameters, namely Mining Operations, Environment-related parameters, Adoption of Technologies, Best Mining Practices, Economic Performance, Rehabilitation & Resettlement, and Worker-related Compliance and Safety & Security. The policy has encouraged a competitive approach and motivated continuous improvement in operational efficiency, safety standards, environmental management, technological adoption and responsible mining practices among participating mines. The fact that Star Rating Policy has contributed towards improving safety standards, environmental performance and sustainable mining practices in coal and lignite mines, is evident from the results of 5-star-rated mines, which were 8 in 2018-19 and 50 in 2024-25. Year- wise details of declared star-rated mines are in the Annexure.

(d): To promote healthy competition and encourage mines to enhance their compliance standards, the Ministry of Coal organises the Star Rating Award Ceremony during each review period, recognising all five-star rated mines. For the financial year 2023–24, the Award Ceremony was held in Mumbai on 4th September

2025.

(e): The Star Rating process for the financial year 2025–26 was initiated on 14th July

2026. The final date for submission of self-evaluation reports by mine owners is 15th August 2026. ********* 2Annexure Assessment Five Star Four Star Three Star Two Star One Star No Star Total Year OC UG Mix OC UG Mix OC UG Mix OC UG Mix OC UG Mix OC UG Mix OC UG Mix All 2018-19 04 04 0 28 36 02 62 74 03 50 36 06 24 22 05 01 0 0 169 172 16 357 2019-20 11 05 0 19 20 02 59 74 01 51 40 09 38 17 06 04 02 0 182 158 18 358 2020-21 15 05 0 46 24 0 72 73 02 51 37 11 15 12 05 0 02 0 199 153 18 370 2021-22 18 06 0 41 36 0 69 66 03 53 37 08 21 06 05 04 0 0 206 151 16 373 2022-23 33 10 0 52 44 04 69 50 04 36 33 03 21 13 03 05 0 0 216 150 14 380 2023-24 31 11 0 70 30 01 63 69 05 35 30 04 21 04 01 08 0 0 228 144 11 383 2024-25 35 15 0 57 60 03 59 50 03 33 06 03 17 0 0 31 09 01 232 140 10 382 ***** 3