Mining tragedy strikes Meghalaya once again

Mining tragedy strikes Meghalaya once again

Subject: Geography

Section: Economic Geography

Context: At least one person was killed while another was critically injured after an alleged illegal coal mine collapsed on them in an early morning incident in the village of Urak (Riangdim), a remote hamlet close to Goreng under Shallang police station in West Khasi Hills.

Concept:

• Rat hole mining involves digging of very small tunnels, usually only 3-4 feet high, which workers (often children) enter and extract coal.
• These rat-hole mines are spread throughout Meghalaya, but are mostly concentrated in the Jaintia Hills, the South Garo Hills around the towns of Baghamara and Nangalbibra, and the area around Nongjri and Shallang in the West Khasi Hills.
• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned it in 2014, on grounds of it being unscientific and unsafe for workers. The state (Meghalayan) government has challenged the NGT ban in the Supreme Court.
• According to available government data, Meghalaya has a total coal reserve of 640 million tonnes, most of which is mined unscientifically by individuals and communities.
• Since the coal seam is extremely thin in Meghalaya, no other method would be economically viable.

Impacts

• The water sources of many rivers, especially in Jaintia Hills district, have turned acidic.
• The water also has high concentration of sulphates, iron and toxic heavy metals, low dissolved oxygen (DO) and high BOD, showing its degraded quality.
• The roadside dumping of coal is a major source of air, water and soil pollution.
• Off road movement of trucks and other vehicles in the area for coal transportation also adds to the ecological and environmental damage of the area.
• The practice has been declared as unsafe for workers by the NGT.
• The mines branch into networks of horizontal channels, which are at constant risk of caving in or flooding.

Coal Controller Organisation (CCO).

• Office of Coal Controller (earlier Coal Commissioner), established in 1916, is one of the oldest offices in Indian Coal sector. Main aim behind setting up this office was to have Government control to adequately meet the coal requirement during First World War.
• The Coal Controller’s Organisation (CCO) is a subordinate office of the ministry of coal, having its headquarters at Kolkata and field offices at Dhanbad, Ranchi, Bilaspur, Nagpur, Sambalpur, Kothagudem and Asansol.
• It collects and maintains coal production data of all private and public sector coal mines in the country. The information is collected on a monthly basis.

Mandate

• Under Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 Coal Controller has been made the statistical authority with respect to coal and lignite statistics. Entrusted the responsibility of carrying out Annual Coal & Lignite survey and publishing of Provisional Coal Statistics and Coal Directory of India.
• It is entrusted with the task of monitoring captive mines. Work such as permission for opening and reopening of coal mines has been entrusted to CCO.
• Under Coal Bearing Area (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957-Coal Controller is the competent authority under this act to hear any objection to the Central Government’s Notification relating to acquisition of coal bearing land and to furnish his reports to Central Govt.

Coal in India

• Coal is the main source of energy in India. This fossil fuel is found in a form of sedimentary rocks and is often known as ‘Black Gold’.
• Formation: It originates from organic matter wood. When large tracts of forests are buried under sediments, wood is burnt and decomposed due to heat from below and pressure from above. The phenomenon makes coal but takes centuries to complete.
• Classification: Coal can be classified on the basis of carbon content as follows:
  • Anthracite: It is the best quality of coal which carries 80 to 95% carbon content. It has the highest calorific value. It is found in small quantity in Jammu and Kashmir.
  • Bituminous: It carries 60 to 80% of carbon content and a low level of moisture content. It is widely used and has high calorific value. It is found in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
  • Lignite: It is often brown in colour. It carries 40 to 55% carbon content. It has high moisture content so it gives smoke when burnt. It is found in Rajasthan, Lakhimpur (Assam), and Tamil Nadu.
  • Peat: It has less than 40% carbon content. It has low calorific value and burns like wood.
• Regulation
  • Ownership of Mineral
    • The State Governments are the owners of minerals located within the boundary of the State concerned.
    • The Central Government is the owner of the minerals underlying the ocean within the territorial waters or the Exclusive Economic Zone of India.
  • Granting Mineral Concessions
    • The State Governments grant mineral concessions for all the minerals located within the boundary of the State, under the provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.
    • However, for minerals specified in the First Schedule to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 approval of the Central Government is necessary. Schedule I contains minerals such as coal and lignite, minerals of the “rare earths” group containing Uranium and Thorium.
• Also, the Central Government notifies certain minerals as ‘minor’ minerals from time to time for which the absolute powers for deciding on procedures of seeking applications for and granting mineral concessions, fixing rates of royalty, dead rent, and power to revise orders rest only with the State Government. Example of minor minerals include building stones, gravel, ordinary clay, ordinary sand.