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Makale Özeti:
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Coal mining is a development activity, which is bound to damage the natural ecosystem by all
its activities direct and ancillary, starting from land acquisition to coal beneficiation and use of the
products. This is so because environmental degradation has affected especially the common
property resources such as land and water on which depend the subsistence and well-being of the
local community. The study area being the foremost coal producing region of the country also
ranked high in the record of environmentally degraded region. Huge areas in the Raniganj and
Jharia coalfield in India have become ruined due to abandoned and active mine surface and
underground mines. In open cast mines, waste resources are usually stacked as huge dumps in the
surroundings. These, coupled with coal dumps, cause noteworthy visual impact. Large vicinity of
forest, farming land, and pasture land has been transformed into colliery colonies or into
uncultivated land due to rapid expansion of the coal mines. As a result, land use pattern has been
changed considerably over last three decades. This study is pursued to assess the impact of coal
mining activities on local community and environment.
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