Lost villages and other costs of coalfields

Coal Mining and Displacement in India

• Coal in India:
  • India has 389.42 billion tonnes of estimated reserves (2024).
  • Odisha is the largest coal reserve holder: 99.2 billion tonnes (25.5% of India).
  • Coal still supplies ~45.65% of India’s electricity capacity (June 2025).
• Talcher Coalfields (Angul, Odisha):
  • Largest in India.
  • Angul spans 6.3 lakh hectares, with 32% cultivable land, 43% forests, and 12.26% coal-bearing areas.
  • 66 coal blocks identified; 12 operational, 2 about to start.
  • If all blocks become active → 348 villages to be displaced.
• Displacement in Odisha:
  • 5,923 families displaced in past 5 years (2019–24), mainly from Angul.
  • Angul accounts for 48% of Odisha’s coal production (269.71 MT in 2024).

Relevance : GS 3(Environment and Ecology)

Human Cost of Displacement

• Loss of community & cultural identity:
  • Example: Antaryami Pradhan had to travel 10 km for his brother’s cremation as new village denied him land.
  • Villagers scattered → weakened social cohesion.
• Disruption of livelihoods:
  • Farmers, cattle rearers, milkmen lose land & traditional professions.
  • Rehabilitation colonies often lack open space for farming.
• Psychological & social alienation:
  • New villagers don’t accept displaced families socially.
  • Migrants often feel like outsiders even in new houses.
• Gendered impacts:
  • Pregnant/lactating women lose access to health workers and schemes post-relocation.
  • Women bear additional burden of household and social adjustment.

Compensation & Rehabilitation Issues

• Compensation discrepancies:
  • Example:
    • SCCL (Telangana) offers ₹70 lakh/acre.
    • Gopiballavpur villagers offered only ₹11 lakh/acre.
  • Within Angul, land valuation varies drastically between adjacent villages (e.g., ₹35 lakh vs ₹17 lakh per acre).
• R&R (Rehabilitation & Resettlement) packages:
  • Options include:
    • ₹35 lakh (cash in lieu of employment + self-relocation).
    • ₹31 lakh + land at R&R colony.
  • Issues:
    • R&R colonies often delayed or on disputed land (e.g., forest land challenged at NGT).
    • Many forced to rent or return to old villages.
• Failure in implementation:
  • Law requires resettlement colonies before displacement → often violated.
  • Welfare schemes (health, nutrition, education) do not transfer automatically post-relocation.

Larger Structural Concerns

• Fragmented governance:
  • No centralised displacement database in Angul.
  • Land acquisition handled piecemeal → policies differ across projects.
• Legal & policy shifts:
  • 2014: SC cancelled 204 coal block allocations (including 8 in Angul).
  • 2015: Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act allowed auctions.
  • 2020: Commercial coal mining introduced → private & foreign players entered.
  • Outcome → increased pace of land acquisition & displacement.
• Energy paradox:
  • India pushes renewables but still heavily dependent on coal.
  • Angul remains at the epicenter of India’s coal–development trade-off.

Socio-Economic & Environmental Impact

• Economic paradox:
  • Some families receive life-changing sums but cannot buy equivalent land in towns.
  • Compensation often erodes quickly without sustainable livelihood alternatives.
• Environmental stress:
  • Villages, forests, agricultural lands consumed by expanding open-cast mines.
  • Ecological degradation (loss of forest cover, dust pollution, groundwater depletion).
• Education disruption:
  • Schools demolished → children’s education interrupted.
  • Families caught in limbo delay investments in education due to uncertain future.
• Rural–urban shift stress:
  • Villagers struggle to adapt to urban costs & lifestyles.
  • Loss of access to affordable vegetables, community services, and collective rural economy.

Implications

• For displaced communities:
  • Identity erosion, livelihood collapse, weak social absorption → long-term vulnerability.
  • Inter-generational impact as children lose educational continuity and cultural roots.
• For governance & policy:
  • Need for uniform, transparent, and inflation-adjusted compensation.
  • Collective relocation models (keeping villages intact) rather than atomised dispersal.
  • Transfer of welfare entitlements (PDS, Anganwadi, health services) to new sites.
  • Centralised displacement tracking & accountability mechanism.
• For India’s energy policy:
  • Rising dependence on Odisha coalfields → concentrated risk.
  • Balancing energy security vs social justice vs environmental sustainability will be a defining challenge.
  • Transition to renewables must consider a “just transition” framework for coal-dependent regions.