Ava Apat has completed her MScTech.(Applied Geology) in the year 2009 from Indian School of Mines [Presently IIT(ISM)], Dhanbad, India. She has served in CMPDIL, a R&D Institute of CIL for seven and half years. She is now working as Manager(Geology) in M/s Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, the second highest coal producing company of Coal India Limited and well associated in Corporate Geo-Technical Cell of the company being placed as Nodal Officer.

The present study investigated three major opencast coal mine projects, i.e. Samaleswari Opencast Project, Lakhanpur OCP and Kulda Opencast Project of

M/s Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (A subsidiary Company of Coal India Limited) and collected data of rainfall, temperature including pre-mining, post mining data and land reclamation data thereof. In the course of study, primary as well as secondary data on geology, method of mining, coal processing, and other ancillary activities were collected to interpret and evaluate the change in ecosystem in Ib Coalfield spreading in Jharsuguda and Sundargarh districts of Odisha, India. We documented the data and relevant documents and compared considering mine closure plan, evaluated and interpreted and found that there is significant improvement/restoration of damaged ecosystem in the post-mining phase of surface coal mining after technical and biological reclamation with massive plantation. Subsequently, a comparison of both pre-mining and post-mining meteorological data of the area of mining was made to depict the changes/impacts leading to climate change.

S. Roy Choudhury has completed his BTech(Mining Engineering) in the year 1982 from Indian School of Mines [Presently IIT(ISM)], Dhanbad, India and passed FCC(Coal) from DGMS, Dhanbad, India. He is the General Manager(Mining) of M/s Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, the second highest coal producing company of Coal India Limited. He has vast experience in coal mining placed in different positions in different subsidiary companies of Coal India Limited. He is a Life Member of MGMI.

The present study investigated three major opencast coal mine projects, i.e. Samaleswari Opencast Project, Lakhanpur OCP and Kulda Opencast Project of

M/s Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (A subsidiary Company of Coal India Limited) and collected data of rainfall, temperature including pre-mining, post mining data and land reclamation data thereof. In the course of study, primary as well as secondary data on geology, method of mining, coal processing, and other ancillary activities were collected to interpret and evaluate the change in ecosystem in Ib Coalfield spreading in Jharsuguda and Sundargarh districts of Odisha, India. We documented the data and relevant documents and compared considering mine closure plan, evaluated and interpreted and found that there is significant improvement/restoration of damaged ecosystem in the post-mining phase of surface coal mining after technical and biological reclamation with massive plantation. Subsequently, a comparison of both pre-mining and post-mining meteorological data of the area of mining was made to depict the changes/impacts leading to climate change.