Social Impacts of Coal

Mining in Jharkhand
Objective

To study in detail the impacts of coal mining on society as a whole and to

suggest improvements for a move towards a healthy and sustainable coal
mining industry
Current Situation in India
Coal Production in India by State
Coal Production in India by
Company Coal Production (2015-16) [MT]

States
Non Coking
Coal Production (2015-16) [MT] Coking Total

Arunachal Pradesh
Company 0 0
Coking Non- Total
Assam 0.486 0.486
coking
Chhattisgarh 0.135 130.470 130.605
CIL 53.701 482.774 536.475
Jammu & Kashmir 0.015 0.015

SCCL - 60.380 60.380 Jharkhand 58.548 62.519 121.067

Madhya Pradesh 0.209 107.505 107.714

Other Public 0.961 8.862 9.823
Maharashtra 38.351 38.351
Meghalaya 3.715 3.715
Total Public 54.662 552.016 606.678
Odisha 138.461 138.461

Total Private 6.225 26.331 32.556 Telangana 60.380 60.380

Uttar Pradesh 12.689 12.689
West Bengal 1.995 23.756 25.751
ALL INDIA 60.887 578.347 639.234 All India 60.887 578.347 639.234

It can be seen that Coal India Limited alone accounted for 83.92% of coal
production in the country and share of SCCL was 9.45%. Share of public sector
was 94.91% and that of private sector was 5.09%.
Current Situation in Jharkhand
Year Quantity (in Share Growth
Million Tonnes) (%) (%)
2006-07 88.764 20.6 3.9
2007-08 90.895 19.9 2.4
2008-09 96.272 19.5 5.9
2009-10 105.917 19.9 10.0
2010-11 108.949 20.5 2.9
2011-12 109.566 20.3 0.6
2012-13 111.274 20.0 1.6
2013-14 113.091 20.0 1.6
2014-15 124.143 20.4 9.8
2015-16 121.067 18.9 -2.5
Coal production in India has been unable to meet the demand

With the increasing depletion of coal located at shallow depths

and absence of any long term plans to develop underground
mining, the demand-supply gap is expected to increase further
Nationalisation of Coal(1973)
We all know that the process of nationalisation of the coal industry had begun in the
decade of the fifties and was completed in 1973. The following reasons lay behind
nationalisation:
At that time a great demand for coal had arisen in various industries. It was
necessary to ensure monetary investment to maintain an uninterrupted supply of coal
in keeping with this demand.
Nationalisation was necessary in order to prevent the loss of national resources.
Because the private industries were motivated by the urge to make quick profits,
they were depleting natural resources.
It was necessary to extract coal from the deposits according to a carefully laid-out
plan.
It was necessary to make arrangements for the safety of the labourers.
It was important to raise the standard of living of the workers in the coal industry.
Other reasons were the necessity of maintaining environmental safety along with
ensuring that sand was used to fill the pit after the extraction of coal.
The Nationalisation of Coal Mines Act of 1973 stated that all mines will be under the control
of the state. But with the amendment of 1976 the iron and steel industry in the private sector
was allowed to have its own captive mines.

In 1992, the central government decided to incorporate private organisations in the

production of electricity. Not only that. In order to get the private sector interested in the
project, the nationalisation act of 1973 was further amended. The amendment enabled the
government to grant captive mines to the coal-washeries of the private sector at will.

In recent years the private participation has increased. Only large companies were
dominating Coal India Limited's coal e-auctions, or coal linkages where fixed quantum of
coal is supplied by CIL to the users.Last year it was noted that almost 51% of the coal mines
were controlled by private organisations.

But there has been very less investments in underground mining.Old Mines have not been
renovated to make it usable.
Recent Model in Coal Industry
Last year, in its judgement cancelling all captive coal block allocations, the
Supreme Court struck down the two dominant models for public-private joint
ventures the 51:49 joint venture where the private partner held 51% of the
ownership share, and the even more egregious 74:26 Mine Developer and
Operator model where the private company held 74%. In both the models, control
over the coal block lay with the private company
In a month's time, the National Democratic Alliance government will start
allocating coal blocks to state governments for commercial mining.
The public sector units will most likely follow the subcontracted Mine Developer and
Operator model. Here, the miner gets paid for the coal extracted. Ownership over
the coal block stays with the public sector units. A lot also depends on the size of
the coal blocks being allotted for commercial mining. Foreign companies will not
find small blocks attractive enough to set up shop in India.
The outcome of such a model is that it pushes all the risk to the private company
even as its gains stay fixed. Such companies, with looming penalties for delays, are
likely to be more ruthless with land acquisition
Social Effects
Land is obtained from the people which leads to
1.Displacement
2.Loss of livelihood

Coal mining projects not only affect the people whose land and houses have
been taken over, but also people living in vicinity

Environmental impacts, which include water scarcity, air, noise, and water
pollution, health impacts etc

Safety and health hazards for mine workers, some of which include inhalation of
dust; inhalation of toxic fumes and gases; exposure to radiation; noise induced
hearing loss; heat stroke; exhaustion etc
Land Acquistion Act
1984
It allows the acquisition of land for some public purpose by a government agency from
individual landowners after paying a government-determined compensation to cover
losses incurred by landowners from surrendering their land to the agency
2013
It was made compulsory to get the consent of at least 70% of the affected people, and
it was made binding to assess the projects social impact. The second check was meant
to ensure that only the minimum land needed was acquired and that the social costs
were not unduly highWhile passing this law, the government, however, made an
exemption for land acquisition by public sector units under 13 central laws. This meant
that any land secured under these 13 laws werent checked by the consent and social
impact assessment clauses. The exempt laws related to building roads, railways,
prospecting and mining coal and other mineral. Under the 2013 law, those losing land in
urban areas are entitled to compensation twice the market value of their land. In rural
areas, the compensation may range from two to four times the market value of the land,
depending on the distance from urban areas. The 2013 law provides for giving
employment to one member of each family affected by land acquisition.
Mines Act 1952 covers the safety and health issues
Unfair Land Acquisition in Jharkhand

The NTPC is getting hold of most of the land in Badkgaon under the Coal
Bearing Areas
As it happens, in Jharkhand, over 80% of all land acquisition over 20,000 acres
is being done under the exempt central laws
Compensation is not being given to the people who lose their land.
In Jharkhand, the government has fixed four times the market value of the land
as the compensation rate in rural areas
The public-sector Coal India Limited too is acquiring land in central Jharkhand,
in an area adjoining Badkagaon. In addition, CIL has its own R&R policy which
was adopted in 1994. The policy is to offer job to at least one member of each
displaced family from whom land of a minimum size (generally taken as two
acres of irrigated land and three acres of un-irrigated land) has been acquired
Those who lose smaller plots are overlooked
Safety

Accident rateavailability of health facility etc etc should be added in this

section
Theft Coal Mafia etc etc to follow