J'khand asks PlanComm to study impact of coal mining on state

Jharkhand government has asked the Planning Commission to assess the impact of coal mining on the state's economy in order to ask for compensatory measures, a move that could spell more trouble for CIL.
The development comes close on the heels of the Jharkhand government slapping notices for recovery of land rent to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore to Coal India Ltd (CIL) for excavating fuel in the state without any compensation, based on a preliminary assessment.
Earlier, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal in a letter to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had dismissed the state's Rs 25,000 crore claim from CIL saying the "question of payment of any surface rent or land rent does not arise".

Jharkhand houses two of the major Coal India arms - Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), besides parts of another subsidiary Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL).
"We have asked the Planning Commission to undertake a comprehensive study of impact of coal mining on the people and the economy of the state as the companies are violating norms of mining and not complying with mines closure plans," Chief Secretary, Jharkhand, R S Sharma told PTI.
Sharma said the state was suffering due to blatant mining by coal companies, especially in open cast mines without mines reclamation plans and once the study is done the companies at default would be asked to initiate compensatory measures.

Coal India Chairman S Narsing Rao, however, did not respond to the repeated calls in this connection.

CCL has 58 Operative mines spared across eight districts in the state which include 37 Opencast mines and accounted for about 50 million tonnes (MT) coal last fiscal.
BCCL, on the other hand meets almost 50 per cent of the total prime coking coal requirement of the integrated steel sector and accounted for over 31 MT coal last fiscal.
Sharma also said that the state earlier this month has also raised its concerns before the Finance Commission as to how the state's natural advantage in terms of abundance of natural resources has become a curse.

The Finance Commission was apprised as to how mining boom in the State has led to displacement of people, pollution of rivers and also had an adverse impact on the health of the local people, affecting state's economy and has been asked to look into it, Sharma said.
He added that an independent regulator needs to be put in place to govern the sector.
The state officials have said Coal India owed "thousands of crores of rupees" to the state for excavating coal as it can not take the land for mining "free of cost".
CIL, accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic production and has set an output target of 492 MT for the current fiscal.