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Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Beyond Coal-Gate: New Study From Energy Group


A 42-page study put out in January by Prayas, a noted Pune-based energy analysis group dissects India’s coal sector, raising a range of policy issues that need to be urgently addressed. The mineral forms the basis of over half of India’s, though supply to industry is increasingly an issue, even as the sector is beset with big-ticket corruption and environmental violations.

Some of the challenges of the coal sector raised by the report include:

* The monopoly and near unaccountability of Coal India Ltd    
* The absence of credible estimates of the country’s reserves, necessary for planning
* Poor environmental compliance and social violations, especially around resettlement and health, leading to conflicts with local populations
* Inadequate importance to labour and safety issues, leading to increase in worker fatalities, especially among the vulnerable contract labourers
* Illegal mining and theft, and operations by mafias in some areas

The report recommends the setting up of an apex committee with representatives from a range of relevant ministries including coal, power, iron and steel, industry, finance, railways, environment and forests, labour, the PMO and the Planning Commission. The study argues for a broad and multi-pronged approach rather than piecemeal measures, given the serious problems facing the extraction and production of one of India’s most vital minerals.

Read the entire report here