Spanning the coal-rich districts of Jharkhand and West Bengal, Damodar Valley (DV)—India’s ‘Ruhr Valley’—has powered the country’s growth since Independence. Coal from Jharia and Raniganj has fuelled India’s rise while steel plants of Durgapur and Bokaro, and fertiliser factories of Sindri became ‘temples of modern India’.

Today, the region stands as a stark paradox: rich in coal and industrial infrastructure, yet choking on resources that once made it prosperous. The air is thick with pollution, rivers flow contaminated and the economic model that once promised eternal employment is now creating a landscape of uncertainty. The imperative is clear: DV must urgently transition from a coal-based past, or risk terminal decline. Evidence of the coming decline is everywhere