Modi government’s step to check the mining mafia

Modi Government has developed a Coal Mining Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) app with the help of Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Application, Geo-informatics (BISAG) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), to use technology for curbing illegal coal mining activity in the coalfield areas of the country.

Khanan Prahari mobile app is a tool for reporting any illegal coal mining incident. Any individual can download the app from play store and can report any illegal mining using geo-tagged photographs as well as textual information.

The illegal activities related to coal mining operations in India has been getting a lot of criticism in the recent past. The current system of monitoring of illegal coal mining is not efficient. It is based on local complaints and inputs based on unreliable sources. Also, there is no robust mechanism to monitor the action taken on such complaints. Most of the times, the complainant’s life is in threat.

PM Modi had addressed the national meet on ‘Promoting Space Technology-based tools and applications in Governance and Development’, in New Delhi on 7th September 2015, where he emphasized on the role of space science in achieving good governance. He also asked all departments of govt. to explore the effective use of space technology.

Since then, the Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) have worked hand in hand to develop the app. On the launch of this app, Piyush Goyal, Minister 0f Railways and Coal, expressed his joy and tweeted:

It is a satellite-based monitoring system which can provide a trigger for any coal mining like activity in the vicinity of the existing coal mining areas. Developed under the Digital India Program, CMSMS is one of the first such surveillance system developed in the country using spatial technology. The system will use remote sensing and detection technology to establish a regime of responsive coal mining administration to curb instances of illegal coal mining. It acts as a tool for reporting through “Khanan Prahari” mobile application. It has been hosted on the National Centre of Geo-Informatics (NCoG) portal.

The app is set to increase transparency by giving the public an access to the system. It is based on satellite data, so it will be bias-free and Independent. Satellites will act as an “Eyes watching from the sky”. The coal mining areas will be monitored regularly for the quick response. There will be a follow up at various levels like district mining offices, coal production headquarters; offices of CMPDI and Ministry of Coal after the actions are triggered.

The Maps of the coal blocks and coalfield boundaries have been geo-referenced. The geo-referenced coal blocks and coalfield boundaries are superimposed on the latest satellite remote sensing images. The system can scan up to a perimeter of 100 meters around the existing coalfield in order to identify any unusual activity. If there is any suspicious signature identified, the system will trigger and a ticket will be generated with a unique reference number.

Triggers generated will be studied by specialist groups identified by MoC, and then transmitted to the concerned nodal officials for field verification. Further legality check of the operation is conducted and reported back to the system and can be traced against the reference number initially assigned to it.

Recently, a CISF team had seized trucks from Babanpur in Satgram of West Bengal, loaded with a 20-metric ton of illegally mined coal. PM Modi has also given a slogan of “Saaf Niyat, Sahi Vikash” to promote this application.

The mobile app “Khanan Prahari” is an essential part of the whole system. It enables an individual to report the illegal activities, it will enhance the PM’s vision of “Sab ka Sath, Sab ka Vikash”. Moreover, the identity of any individual will not be disclosed.

The Khanan Prahari app can be downloaded from here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.coal.coalminesurveillance&hl=en