Coal India subsidiary Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) on Wednesday said it has deployed artificial intelligence–driven drones to assess green cover and scientific land reclamation at its Sonepur-Bazari mining area in West Bengal.
The company said the initiative involved drone-based orthomosaic mapping, GIS- and GPS-enabled spatial validation, vegetation health analysis, and ecological surveys for ground verification. High-resolution UAV surveys, combined with advanced geospatial analytics, are being used to objectively evaluate plantation performance and ecological restoration at the site.
According to the statement, the deployment of AI-enabled drones is aimed at strengthening environmental monitoring and ensuring data-driven assessment of reclamation and afforestation efforts at the mining area.