These figures come as a shock since there has not been a significant decrease in the number of coal accidents, evidenced by the data provided below. Multiple ministers, namely Digvijaya Singh (INC), Shaktisinh Gohil (INC), Mukul Balkrishna Wasnik (INC), Dr. Amee Yajnik (INC), Phulo Devi Netam (INC) and Dhiraj Prasad Sahu (INC) had asked the union minister for state-wise data on number of accidents reported in coal mines since 2019.

As per the tables provided in the answer, up till November 20 of the year 2023, a total of 119 incidents coal mining accidents had taken place. Out of this 119, 30 accidents were fatal while 89 were serious. Notably, the highest number of fatal incidents took place in Jharkhand where eight fatalities were recorded while 59 people were recorded to be seriously injured in Telangana.

The table also provides data for the years 2018 to 2022. In the year 2018, a total of 315 accidents took place, out of which 49 were fatal and 266 were serious accidents. The state of Chhattisgarh reported the highest number of fatal accidents, a total of eleven, while Telangana reported 207 serious accidents.

For the year 2019, a total of 244 coal accidents were reported, out of which 51 were fatal and 193 were serious. Jharkhand reported eleven fatal accidents. The state of Telangana again reported the highest number of serious coal accidents, accounting for 143 serious accidents out of the total of 193.

In the year 2020, 48 fatal accidents and 118 serious accidents were reported, forming a total of 166 accidents. A total of 12 fatal incidents were reported in Chhattisgarh, highest amongst the listed states. While Telangana reported the highest number of serious accidents, accounting for a total of 80 out of 118, the number of such incidents had fallen from the past years.

For the year 2021, a total of 231 accidents took place, out of which 43 were fatal and 188 were serious accidents. The state of West Bengal reported the highest number of fatal accidents, a total of ten, while Telangana reported 127 serious accidents.

Lastly, in 2022, 203 coal accidents were reported, out of which 24 were fatal and 179 were serious. The state of Jharkhand reported 7 fatal incidents, forming the maximum from amongst the listed states. The state of Telangana reported 101 serious accidents.

As can be deduced from the data provided, over the period of 5 years, Telangana reported a total of 717 serious accidents.

The tables on accidents in coal mines are provided below:

The complete answer can be viewed here:

Related:

WB: Coal Workers Fight for Better Wages, Deplore Labour Codes

Kolkata: Civil Society, Tribals Protest, Demand Cancellation of Coal Mines in Deucha-Panchami

GoI has failed in its duties towards coal provisions: PCPSPS

Birbhum: Adivasis opposing coal mining project get support from SKM

The post Over 5 years, 1033 serious coal accidents reported, 717 took place in Telangana alone appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Sarguja district administration, Chhattisgarh has reportedly revealed that Adani Enterprises has illegally acquired land that belonged to 32 farmers under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The company has acquired land in Udaipur tehsil, Ghatbarra village and the Collector is probing the matter. This village is one of the villages around Parsa East Kete Basan coal block. 

Two of these coal mines are associated with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd of which Adani Enterprises is the Mine Developer and Operator (MDO). The first coal mine has been operational since 2013 and mining has begun there. The other coal mine is supposed to begin in the year 2028 and for this purpose itself, Adani Enterprises seems to be illegally acquiring lands around Ghatbara and Paras villages from farmers by making them sign affidavits and handing out cheques to them in an unlawful manner of land acquisition, in complete disregard and contravention of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The matter was first reported on August 25 in Patrika, a regional newspaper in Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan and Chhattisgarh Van Adhikar Manch wrote complaints to the Chief Minister about this matter. The Chief Ministers Secretariat then informed Sarguja Collector Sanjeev Kumar Jha who deployed a team to look into the matter. A team was constituted comprising Assistant Commissioner of Tribal Welfare, JR Nagvanshi, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Revenue, Pradeep Sahu and SDO Forests SN Mishra. In the report submitted by the team, it is allegedly mentioned that the farmers have been allocated land in Ghabara under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. 

Even if the land is to be acquired, it can only be lawfully done after the farmers are given appropriate compensation for it and rehabilitated and resettled as per the law. But the due process of law has not been followed here. As per the news report in Patrika, around 15 farmers were made to sign on an affidavit and were handed over a cheque for the land. Until now 32 such instances have come forth.

That is not all, it has been reported by Hindustan Times in February 2019, that the forest land which has been granted preliminary forest clearance by The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union environment ministry for the Parsa coal mine, was declared in 2009 as a “no-go” area because of its rich forest cover.

In March 2020, a notice was issued to NCL a joint venture company between government-owned National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC) for not commencing work in an iron ore mine in Dakshin Bastar, Dantewada. Adani Enterprises is the MDO of this mine. What is pertinent to note here is that the forest clearance given for the mine is also being reconsidered by the forest department of the state after the government inquiry which found the gram sabha consent null and void, reported The Wire.

Related:

Unmindful mining will bring permanent pandemic

Kerala against Adani takeover of Trivandrum International Airport

Raging inferno Jharia treads on hot coals as Centre opens up mining for private sector

Chhattisgarh lawyer allegedly assaulted by cops, WCD officials

The post Is Adani enterprises illegally acquiring land for coal mining in Chhattisgarh? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Following the Modi.2 government’s controversial decision announced yesterday, June 18, the auction of 41 coal blocks, including 20 of Jharkhand, for commercial mining, widespread protests have broken out, especially as all ownership rights of the land owners and Gram Sabhas will potentially be snatched away and natural resources opened up. People’s organisations and environmentalists have dubbed this move as opening the door for “for more corporate plunder” and also said that it “again exposes the atmanirbhar initiative,” propaganda by and of the prime minister.

In a strong statement issued by the Jharkand Mahasabha, the organisation has also said that it is deeply worrying that Jharkhand government has extended support to the central government’s decision. However, the fact that the state has asked for a moratorium period of 6-9 months indicates that it is not fully on-board this decision.

The detrimental impact of the decision to allow commercial coal mining on the domestic coal industry and market is well documented. However, the most worrying aspect of the decision is that it simply overlooks the staggering impact on the lives of landowners, people living nearby and the environment. The Mahasabha organised an online meeting on June 17, attended by experts and activists, to discuss the impact of Modi government’s decision on Jharkhand.

A large proportion of Jharkhandis, especially Adivasis, depend on agriculture and forest-based livelihoods. Jharkhand, as one of the richest mineral states, stands witness to the fact that rampant mining, especially in corporate interests, does not improve well being of the people. Needless to say, mining, especially of coal, has significant environmental and human costs. Opening the state for domestic and foreign corporate mining entities will further destroy the livelihoods and environment. Mining companies, supported by the government, flout laws that aim to check environmental degradation, left, right and centre. Hundreds of unreclaimed spent-mines, across the state, stand witness to this.

The decision also violates several legislations and constitutional provisions that aim to protect the poor and marginalised and the right of Adivasis to self-govern (“atmanirbhar”). PESA and Constitutional Vth  schedule provisions clearly define the role of Gram Sabhas as primary decision-making body of a village. The Samata judgement allows Adivasis and their cooperatives the right to undertake mining in their land, if they so wish. Further, the Lodha bench of Supreme Court in its landmark judgement of 2013 clearly said that ownership of minerals should be vested with the landowners. Further, the forest rights act clearly defines forest as a community property of the Gram Sabha. The central government did not even bother to discuss the plan to auction coal for commercial mining with relevant Gram Sabhas. Opening coal mines for commercial plunder will also further weaken rights of coal workers.

The statement also states that the gatbandhan coalition of JMM, Congress and RJD was given a decisive mandate against the anti-people and pro-corporate policies of the earlier Raghuvar Das government. It is expected that the state government will stand with the people in their fight against forceful acquisition of their land or mining on their land without their consent. Even during the lockdown, coal mining companies have been trying to acquire land or extend their lease without any public consultation. Struggle against such forceful acquisition or illegal extension of lease is already going on in different corners of the state.

The debate on any form of mining needs to start from the question whether people of the area want mining to happen or not, no government should, in a democracy have the unilateral power to take such a decision. If the people and Gram Sabhas want mining, cooperatives of landowners or Gram Sabhas can be supported by the government with capital and technological help to undertake mining and allied activities on their own. Gram Sabhas have effectively demonstrated their ability to manage forest and forest-based products. The Mahasabha firmly believes in community ownership of natural resources. Also, agricultural land and forests should not be used for any kind of mining.

On June 18, 2020 when the central government auctions the coal blocks for commercial mining, without any consultation with the people and Gram Sabhas, Mahasabha gives a call to all Gram Sabhas of affected area to protest against Modi government’s decision and not allow mining activities to start. Mahasabha will work with the people to oppose the mining activities on the ground. The Mahasabha also demands that the state government should take a firm stand against commercial mining and centre’s decision to auction coal blocks, implement the laws and legislations that protect people’s rights to natural resources and self-govern, in letter and spirit, and present an alternative non-exploitative vision to the country.

Related:

1. Jharkhand’s Saranda forest opened up for mining, authorities dilute sustainable plans

2. Jharkhand Polls: Where Is the Mineral Wealth Going?

The post Auction for Mining in 20 Coal Blocks given go ahead, protests break out: Jharkand appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: steelguru.com

The villagers sitting on dharna at Udaipur block in Ambikapur district recalled how Rahul Gandhi visited them in June 2015 at Madanpur pledging his support to the people’s protest against the coal mines in the Hasdeo-Arand coalfield region but the Chhattisgarh government led by Congress now “ignores” their plea, The Indian Express reported.

The very biodiversity-rich Hasdeo-Arand coalfield region was declared ‘No-Go’ area for mining in 2010 by Jairam Ramesh, then Union Minister for environment and forest.

However in 2013, he refused the recommendations of the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), which he had earlier accepted. The reasons he cited for the refusal of the recommendations and allocations of the coal blocks were that the coal blocks were located in the fringe area of the forest and not the actual biodiversity-rich area, that changes had been made to mining plans to lessen the damage, that concerned raised about the wildlife in the forest could be managed through a wildlife management programme, that these would meet growing energy demands in an ‘environmentally friendly’ manner and that he, as minister, “has to balance and keep the broader developmental picture in mind and balance out different objectives and considerations”.

It has been over a month that villagers have held indefinite demonstrations demanding the cancellation of land acquisition and environmental clearances for coal projects in the region where around 20 coal blocks have been identified in coalfields of which 8 coal blocks have been auctioned.

Villagers say that a memorandum of demands had been given to the Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and collectors of Surajpur, Korba and Jashpur, but the tehsildar of the area says that no such memorandum has been received.

Coming together under the Hasdev Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (HABSS), the protestors have written to Baghel demanding that no mining project be carried out in the region, while also asking him to scrap land acquisition on the villages of Salhi, Hariharpur and Fathepur in the Parsa coal block in Surguja and Surajpur districts.

The protestors also demanded that the developer-cum-operator agreement between the Adani group and Chhattisgarh Power Generation Company, which was allotted the Paturia and Gidhmuri coal block, be cancelled, The Hindustan Times reported.

With the Congress-ruled state government yet to respond, the villagers continue fighting for their rights over ‘jal-jungle-jameen’ and observed ‘Rajya Bachao Utsav’ (save the state) when the entire Chhattisgarh was busy celebrating its 20th Foundation Day festival in the first week of November.

The land which also figures under the 5^th Scheduled Area cannot be taken without the consent of the villagers but this provision is being violated, alleges Alok Shukla, convener of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (organisation fighting for forest rights of tribals and the mining issues).

The Parsa East and Kete Basan coal block in the region, which was considered an inviolate forest area, has seen mining activities over the years despite ongoing legal cases.

The Parsa mine, awarded to the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited, is one of the 30 mapped mines in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Arand region. It is home to forest-dwelling Adivasi communities, such as the Gonds, who are deeply dependent on forest produce, and agriculture. The region is also highly bio diverse and ecologically fragile with dense sal forests, rare plants, perennial water sources, and wildlife species. But the vast coal reserves in the region threaten its rich ecosystem—the Hasdeo Arand Coalfield, as mapped by the ministry of coal, has more than a billion metric tonnes of proven coal reserves, spread over an area of 1,878 square kilometres. Of this area, 1,502 square kilometres comprise forest land.

Residents of the villages destroyed by the PEKB mine have not been rehabilitated and regret giving up their land for a good cause. Many have not got jobs and have resorted to menial work. Animals displaced by the mining are now coming to the villages and there are increased instances of elephant and bear attacks which have caused crop and house damage. Streams used by villagers have now become polluted. The authorities have not assessed the required land for mining and nor have they considered alternatives. Adivasis whose livelihoods depends on forests know that Hasdeo is their home and that the government cannot illegally snatch it from them.

In an interview to The Caravan, Jainandan Singh Porte, a member of the HABSS said that the villages have filed community claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and will continue to fight for their land undeterred.

Related:

When Trees Fall In The Chhattisgarh Forest, 20 Villages Make A Sound
A Rs 56,000-Cr ‘Afforestation’ Fund Threatens India’s Indigenous Communities
Historical injustice and “bogus” claims: Forest rights, conservation and large infrastructure in India
Modi Regime’s nod for mining in 170,000 hectares of forest in Chhattisgarh

The post Culling our lungs: Protests against coal mine allocations in ‘no-go’ area continue appeared first on SabrangIndia.

India, the world’s second largest consumer of coal and the fourth largest emitter of carbon dioxide, accounts for 7% of global emissions and continues to subsidise the loss-making, polluting coal industry. Burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions warming up the planet.

Subsidies for oil and gas decreased from Rs 1.5 lakh crore ($21 billion) in 2014 to Rs 36,900 crore ($5.1 billion) in 2017, while coal subsidies increased by 2%, from Rs 15,650 crore ($2.20 billion) to Rs 15,900 crore ($2.23 billion), according to the December 2018 IISD study.
The biggest chunk of coal subsidies was on customs and excise duties, to reduce input costs for coal-fired power generation. In 2017, the coal industry received concessions worth Rs 7,523 crore ($1 billion) on customs duty on imports. The same year, the coal sector also received concessions on excise duty amounting to Rs 6,913 crore ($960 million). Together, these formed 91% (Rs 14,436 crore) of coal subsidies in 2017, said the IISD study.

India’s demand for coal in financial year (FY) 2017-18 was 908 million tonnes (MT), but domestic production, at only 676 MT, fell short by 34%, according to the ministry of coal.

Despite these concessions and high demand, investors have seen their holdings in key Indian coal-mining and coal-based power companies underperform the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex by an average of 10% a year since 2013, costing Rs 25,000 crore ($3.5 billion) in forgone returns, according to a December study by the non-governmental environmental organisation Greenpeace.

Government policies on coal subsidies saw major changes in 2017, with the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST), a unified tax which subsumed several indirect taxes, including customs and excise duties. The net value of coal subsidies, however, was unlikely to reduce significantly in 2018, said the IISD report.

While abolishing concessional custom duty rates increased the price of coal imports in 2018, the introduction of a new concession of 5% on the sales tax rate for coal under the GST nearly offset the difference, said the report.

The concession under GST provided subsidies to coal worth Rs 12,122 crore ($1.7 billion) in 2018–84% of the subsidies received by coal in 2017 under former customs and excise duty rates, as per the IISD study. While this represents a decrease, it reflects only a part of the actual subsidies received by the coal industry.

Reduced coal subsidies post-GST are a mirage due to hidden subsidies
A less conservative definition of a subsidy that includes external costs would reveal the true extent of the subsidies to the coal sector in India.

The lack of penalties for non-compliance with India’s environmental norms has also been considered as a subsidy in the IISD study.

Thermal power companies in India escaped penalties worth Rs 853 crore ($119 million) in 2014 and Rs 981 crore ($137 million) in 2017 for not washing coal before use, as per environmental regulations. This was the “largest subsidy” identified by the IISD study in the “non-compliance” group of subsidies.

“[Use of] unwashed domestic coal in power generation also results in reduced efficiency of power plants, requiring [superior quality] coal imports to improve the overall combustion characteristics,” said the IISD study.

The total untaxed external costs associated with coal use were worth Rs 12 lakh crore ($196 billion) in India in 2015, the IISD report said, citing calculations by global monetary cooperation organisation, the International Monetary Fund. This is nearly 400 times the entire environment ministry budget of Rs 3,111 crore in 2019-20.

Electricity transmission and distribution (T&D) is the largest single recipient of energy subsidies in India, receiving concessions worth Rs 83,313 crore ($11.7 billion) in 2017. Though India is making efforts to turn its electricity grid greener, with 20% of T&D based on renewable sources, T&D continues to largely support coal-fired electricity in India, with 60% based on coal sources. About 60% of the subsidies T&D receives are thus effectively coal subsidies, as per the IISD study. IISD, however, has not included T&D subsidies in calculating the total coal subsidies in 2017.

Not least are further external costs associated with coal–air pollution and associated health problems, environmental problems and greenhouse gas emissions–listed by the IISD study.

Stressed coal sector under further pressure as India shifts to greener power generation
India has made good progress in greening its power generation by doubling capacity from renewable resources (solar, wind, etc.) over four years to 2018. Renewables now account for one-fifth of India’s total installed power capacity. Government subsidies for renewable power generation also grew six-fold over the three years to 2017, from Rs 2,608 crore ($366 million) in 2014 to Rs 15,040 crore ($2.1 billion).

But although coal remains the source of about 60% of India’s electricity production, the sector is under stress. With higher costs than solar- or wind-based electricity production, and the burden of green taxes, it is beset by financial difficulties. Poor coal supply, locations distant from coal sources, use of outdated equipment and lack of long-term power purchase agreements were cited as the main causes of financial stress in the coal sector by a parliament committee report.

Since 2010, India has seen coal plant proposals worth 573 gigawatt (GW) cancelled or shelved–1.5 times the current total working capacity–according to a 2018 report by Global Coal Plant Tracker, the End Coal advocacy group’s global repository of information on coal.
Over the past 4-5 years, India added 20 GW of fossil fuel-based thermal power generation capacity annually. But, in FY 2017-18, this slowed down substantially, with a net capacity addition of just 5 GW, Vibhuti Garg, energy economist at think tank Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and a co-author of the IISD study, told IndiaSpend. This excludes the capacity of retiring power plants and captive capacity [a power plant that an industry builds for its own use] from the total thermal capacity addition in the country.
“In FY 2018-19, it is expected that the net addition will be -0.5 GW or [-500 MW], implying that there were more retirements than capacity added in the past year, so 2019 will be crucial [for the transition from fossil fuel-based to greener sources of energy],” Garg said.
About 40 GW of coal-fired power projects are also stranded, with work yet to begin or curtailed due to financial unviability. Of this, 15.7 GW–or 39%–is not even commissioned, according to government data.

Some of these projects had signed long-term agreements at low tariffs. A subsequent rise in the cost of coal-fired generation due to higher coal prices–particularly of coal imports–as well as the cost of freight charges for coal transportation made these projects financially unviable.

T&D companies also have to a pay a higher tariff for power from coal-based power plants. The tariff is Rs 4.39 per kilowatt-hour [kWh or unit] from a new, state-of-the-art, emissions-compliant coal-fired power plant with all favourable conditions (e.g., location close to coal source) in place, compared to Rs 2.5-3.0 per unit for a renewables project, according to government data.

“Any new coal plant commissioned could reduce business for the existing plants. We might see more coal plants becoming non-performing assets,” Nandikesh Sivalingam, a campaigner with Greenpeace India, told IndiaSpend.

India should focus on shutting down old, inefficient, polluting coal-fired power plants and prioritise efficient, emissions-compliant coal power plants, together with implementing new stricter emission norms notified by the Indian government in 2015 to reduce air pollution and water consumption, said Sivalingam.

The debate: Coal provides the base load but increases pollution and emissions
Views on the effectiveness and efficiency of India’s coal subsidies are likely to be heavily influenced by the debate on coal versus renewables in India’s energy future, said the IISD study, presenting both sides of the debate.

Advocates for coal argue that it is the cheapest option for round-the-clock power generation to meet India’s growing energy demand. This includes demand for energy access because it provides low prices for consumers through a rich domestic resource that aids energy security. According to them, coal bears most of the load of providing electricity and potentially balancing capacity for fluctuating renewable energy sources, said the IISD study, adding that renewables receive large subsidies per unit of energy generated, so subsidies for coal are needed to help redress the balance.

Yet, based on recent auctions, grid-scale solar and wind are now fully competitive with coal, without the additional costs that coal use imposes on citizens, including health issues associated with air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, the study said.

(Tripathi is a principal correspondent with IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend
 

The post Government Subsidies For Coal Nearly 400 Times More Than Environment Ministry Budget appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In a major boon to India’s powerful industrial group, the Adanis have been offered a $320 million “royalties holiday” in their prestigious coalmining project in Australia. The offer, reports Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), requires the Adanis to pay “just $2 million a year in royalties once the $21 billion project starts operating.”

Pointing out that “the royalty rate will then increase after several years”, quoting sources, ABC said, “Under the proposed agreement, the state would lose out on a total of $320 million in royalties”. The offer has come following Queensland state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s negotiations with Adanis over the proposed royalties holiday.
Following the negotiations, the report quotes Palaszczuk as saying, "What we know about this project is that it is vital for regional jobs." The Carmichael project is expected to produce 25 million tonnes of coal a year in its first phase.

In a separate report, the British Guardian reports, it is a “$320m deferment of Carmichael coal export royalties”, adding, the Queensland government offer comes after “a former climate change adviser to the federal government said risks inherent in Australia’s largest proposed coalmine meant Adani could shelve its plans.”

The Guardian quotes Prof Will Steffen’s Climate Council report to say that a “carbon budget” approach to a global warming limit of 2C rules out Carmichael coalmine.
“As a catalyst for opening up neighbouring mines, it could lead to total emissions from Galilee basin coal matching ‘one of the top 15 emitting countries in the world’ and making up 130% of Australia’s total carbon pollution.”, the report adds.

Quoting from the report, the Guardian says, “The carbon budget for 2C allows for less than 10% of existing Australian coal reserves to be dug up, leaving ‘no basis for developing any potential new coalmines, no matter where they are or what size they are’. This takes into account the ‘most economical’ existing sources of coal worldwide.”
“There are two undeniable trends – an accelerating uptake of renewable energy and coal plant closures,” the report is further quoted as saying. “For Australia to fight these trends is
economically, socially and environmentally unwise and counterproductive.”

Steffen said his key observation from the report was that rising impacts at “modest temperature rises” – such as bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef – along with more extreme events and warming of 1.1C-1.2C already “really put the pressure on getting out of fossil fuels probably faster than most people have thought”.
Coal, which gives out “a lot more CO2 per unit of energy” than oil or gas, comes out as “the biggest loser” under a carbon budget, Steffen said, adding, “Basically, the story is we can still burn over half the conventional oil reserves, less than half the conventional gas reserves, but very little of the coal reserves, because coal emits a lot more CO2 per unit of energy.”

“The real question is how fast can we phase out our existing mines and existing power stations before their normal lifetime is up. How do we hasten the transition? So any talk of opening up a vast new area of coal is completely out of whack with what we know about what’s happening with the climate systems”, he added.

Related Articles:

1. Australian Govt Fails to Pass Native Title Changes: Setback to Adani
2. Adani: Indian Fishermen warn Australia against Environmental Impact ahead of Coal Mine Talks – ABC News
 
 

The post Adanis “offered” $320 million royalties holiday for Australian coalmining project, even as expert says it is “not viable” appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Kosampalli, a small village in the Tamnar block in the Raigarh district was severely affected by coal mining. In 2000, the coal mining work started in and around the village changing its landscape drastically. Both the private companies that undertook it and the government that supported it made the villagers believe that mining would give them better livelihood opportunities, education and health facilities. But only as the mining work progressed that the villagers realised that they were being conned.

In November 2016, on the request of the villagers, an expert fact-finding team comprising environmental and social researchers Shripad Dharmadhikary and Manshi Asher visited Raigarh and investigated the impact of coal mining in the region. As per the report brought out by the team, close to 80 coal blocks have been identified in the Raigarh coal field of which the Gare Pelma coal block, spread over an area of 16,649 hectares, is the largest. Many of these were allotted to several public and private sector companies. Almost 1000 hectares of forestland has been given to private companies for setting up sponge iron plants.

Changing landscape and lives

In the last 15 years, the landscape of the Tamnar and Gharghoda blocks–two of the most affected coal mining blocks of the district–has drastically changed. Heaps of coal dust and fly ash cover the area which was once covered by forest. It has also impacted the livelihoods of the residents of the blocks.

The mining in the region has resulted in the drastic decline in the growth of mahua flowers and tendupatta (leaves) which are the primary sources of livelihood for most of the villagers in the coal belt in the Raigarh district. The mahua tree (Madhuka indica) and its flowers are used for making medicines as well as alcohol. The tendupatta  (Diospyros melanoxylon) leaves are used for wrapping the tobacco to make beedis. “Deforestation due to mining has affected more than 50 percent of the mahua and tendupatta trees in the region,” says 48-year-old Choyala Ram Siddar, a resident of Milupara panchayat.

The fact-finding report revealed that the air quality in the area is exceptionally poor resulting in several health issues among the residents. “More than 100 earning members from 240 families of the Kosampalli-Sarasmal panchayat have died from respiratory and other health diseases in the last two decades. The immunity of the people has drastically reduced due to living in the polluted environment,” says Kanahai Patel of the panchayat.

Raigarh, which was once rich in water resources, is facing a severe water crisis. The Kelo river, a tributary of Mahanadi that runs through Tamnar, is so polluted from the waste from mining that it has turned black. Not just this, even the groundwater is affected by mining. “Out of the 116 villages in the Tamnar block, at least 90 villages are facing serious groundwater depletion,” says the fact-finding report.

The fact-finding team is of the opinion that water depletion in the open cast mining is due to the huge pits dug for the mines that allow water to seep in from the surroundings which in turn impacts surface water sources as the surface and groundwater are interconnected.

Industries and private mining companies have acquired agricultural land by using all kinds of tactics–from money to harassment. “Encroachment is one of the most common patterns used by the big as well as the small plants,” says the report.

“Even after the massive damage to the environment and the people in the region, the government has not stalled the mining. Instead, it has proposed three mining and industrial projects in the Tamnar and Gharghoda blocks. The project would again affect 54 villages in the district. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had submitted a detailed report on the impact of coal mining in the Raigarh district in January 2017 to the government about the non-compliance of conditions stipulated by the environment ministry, but no action has been taken so far by the government,” says Rinchin, a senior researcher and activist working with Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, a human rights forum.

“The air pollution is beyond permissible limits in the Tamnar and Gharghoda blocks in the Raigarh district,” says a recent fact-finding expert committee report.”The air pollution is beyond permissible limits in the Tamnar and Gharghoda blocks in the Raigarh district,” says a recent fact-finding expert committee report.

Courtesy: http://www.indiawaterportal.org/
 

The post Coal Mining Severely Affects Water, Health in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh: Report appeared first on SabrangIndia.