MOST of us know the Damodar Valley either from school textbooks or from its portrayal in films like Kala Patthar and Gangs of Wasseypur. Yet the valley is far more than what is captured in books or on screen. Spanning the coal-rich districts of Jharkhand and West Bengal, the Damodar Valley — often called India’s [...]

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 part of the stimulus package to revive the economy, the Union government has announced a slew of measures to boost production and reduce imports of coal. It has liberalised the sector, curtailed the monopoly of Coal India Limited (CIL), and has announced an investment of Rs 50,000 crore for [...]

There is no such thing as environmentally sound and safe rat-hole coal mining and hence this primitive practice must be banned forever.

The existing overcapacity, coupled with increasing non-competitiveness of coal power plants, means that the country doesn’t need to construct new coal power plants till 2027.

DMF funds are being diverted for urban projects that have nothing to do with the priorities of mining-affected areas and communities.