The Ministry of Coal has released the report of the high-powered expert committee (HPEC) on gainful utilisation of overburden (OB) in the coal sector.
The HPEC, which included experts from several ministries, NITI Aayog, and coal companies, studied how to better use overburden—soil, rock, and other materials usually discarded during coal mining. The report presents ways to turn OB into a resource that can contribute to economic growth and environmental sustainability. The key highlights of the report include strategies for processing OB to produce manufactured-sand, which can be used in construction projects, reducing the dependency on river sand and preventing environmental degradation.