South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) is the largest coal producing company of India. It is a "Miniratna" Company, and one of eight fully owned subsidiaries of Coal India Limited. The company has its headquarter at Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, and 92 mines spread over Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh; 70 underground, 21 opencast, and 1 mixed. It is a schedule 'B' Mini Ratna CPSE in coal & lignite under the administrative control of the Ministry of Coal.
South Eastern Coalfields Limited was established in 1985 as part of an administrative reorganization by the Government of India. The formation involved the bifurcation of certain coal mines from Western Coalfields Limited to create SECL, while Central Coalfields Limited was similarly divided to form Northern Coalfields Limited.
As of April 1, 2012, the total geological coal reserve in the South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) command area is 58,253.15 million tons, with 16,076.54 million tons classified as proved reserves. The coal deposits are located within the Son-Mahanadi master basin, spanning six districts in ChhattisgarhâÂÂKorba, Raigarh, Surguja, Surajpur, Balrampur, and KoreaâÂÂand three districts in Madhya PradeshâÂÂShahdol, Anuppur, and Umaria. The coal reserve in Madhya Pradesh is reported to be 7,407.00 million tons, while in Chhattisgarh, it is 50,846.15 million tons.
For effective administrative control and operation, the mines have been grouped in three Coalfields with 13 operating areas -