Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption to Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI) for surveying in coalfield areas of Coal India Ltd. As per the permission, the drones will be deployed for acquisition of data for monitoring of Mapping and Surveying activity using UAV Based Optical, LiDAR and Thermal Payloads, volumetric measurement, and, inspections in coalfield areas of Coal India Limited.

The conditional exemption is valid till 04 April 2022 from the date of issue of the letter or until the full operationalization of Digital Sky Platform (Phase-1), whichever is earlier. This exemption shall be valid only if all conditions and limitations as stated below are strictly adhered to. In case of violation of any condition, this exemption shall become null and void.

Standard Operating Procedure(SOP) to CMPDI for flying UAV in coalfield area of Coal India Limited is as below: 

• Exemption from Ministry of Civil Aviation must be obtained from UAS Rules, 2021 before operation.
•  
• Operating restrictions must be adhered to as stipulated in extant Govt. regulations.
•  
• Compliance of conditions on the permissions or exemptions from various agencies such as MOCA/DGCA/MOD/IAF/AAl/State/District/Civic Authorities. Third Party Insurance shall be in place before operations.
   
•  Adherence to SOP, however these may change, for any unavoidable conditions if arises which may be recorded in writing.
   
• CMPDI Limited, shall be responsible for safe operation and legal issue if any on account of any damage occurred to any person or property.
• DGCA & MOCA shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential loss or damage to any life/property arising from or related to this activity.
• This SOP shall be valid exclusively for CMPDI for flying UAV in coalfield area of Coal India Limited.
• The above approval is without prejudice to the compliance of the provisions of extant Rules, Applicable Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) and various Circulars issued by DGCA from time to time. Further if at any time during the aforesaid validity of this approval any violations found then this approval may be altered, suspended or cancelled without giving any reasons thereof.