Khanan Prahari app

Khanan Prahari app is a Ministry of Coal tool which allows citizens to report incidents of illegal coal mining through geo-tagged photographs and textual information. The app is part of the Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS).

Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS)

Illegal coal mining poses a threat to the environment, the lives of those involved in illegal mining, and the general decay in the traditional subsistence base and the country's economy. 

The basic objective of CMSMS is reporting, monitoring and taking suitable action on unauthorised coal mining activities. It is a web based GIS application through which location of sites for unauthorised mining can be detected. There are two ways in which illegal coal mining is reported/ identified through CMSMS. One way is through periodic scanning of Satellite imagery (In house) and the second is through the information provided by responsible citizens using the mobile application 'Khanan Prahari'.

The basic platform used in the system is of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology’s (MeiTY) map which provides village level information. The leasehold boundary of all the coal mines are displayed on this map. The system will use satellite data to detect changes by which unauthorised mining activity extending beyond the allotted lease area can be detected and suitable action can be taken on it. It is the working of the concept of ‘cooperative federalism’ in action. The complaint originating from coal mines allotted to Coal India will go to Coal India Offices and those originating from coal blocks not allotted to Coal India will go straight to the State Government Officers and for each complaint the alert will also go to the District Magistrate and SP of the district.

How the Khanan Prahari app works

Key features of the Khanan Prahari mobile app include:

• Reporting Incidents: Users can easily report incidents of illegal mining by taking photographs and providing comments on the incident. The app allows for the geotagging of photographs by enabling the GPS location feature.
• Confidentiality: The user's identity is kept confidential, ensuring privacy and security.
• Complaint Tracking: Complainants receive a complaint number, which they can use to easily track the status of their reported complaints on the Khanan Prahari mobile app.

The app facilitates reporting any activity taking place related to illegal coal mining like rat hole mining, pilferage etc.

Illegal coal mining activity can be reported to the concerned authorities through mobile app from the respective place of incidents in the coalfield area with 100 mtrs buffer. One can upload geo-tagged photographs of the incident along with textual information directly to the system. Hence, both satellite data and human information will be used to capture information on the unauthorised mining activities. Once reported, the information will be automatically directed to the nodal officers to take suitable action on those activities. The complainant can also track his complaint through the system. The identity of the complainant shall not be revealed.

How to use the app

To download the app for Android platform, click here.

Source : Ministry of Coal