October 10, 2025: Rupni Kisku, 56, harvests paddy on her small plot in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, gathering what remains of the season’s crop as coal machinery looms beyond the field. Once, agricultural belts here have been steadily eaten away by open-cast expansion: government allotment documents record blocks totalling hundreds of hectares in recent years. Environmental assessments and satellite studies show mining footprints in the region increasing and replacing agricultural and forest land, contributing to an estimated ~40% decline in cultivable area around some project sites. Local notices and project reports cite acquisitions, roughly 825 hectares for individual blocks and hundreds of acres of private land taken for mines, roads and washeries, displacing farmers and draining groundwater used for irrigation. Residents say a patchwork of compensation and reclamation promises has done little to restore fertile topsoil or livelihoods; for many, this season’s yield is a last harvest before the coal belt claims the land.

October 11, 2025: In Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district, as Diwali nears, tribal women prepare their homes with fresh coats of mud, a ritual of renewal and purity that has endured for centuries. But this year, the festival’s joy is shadowed by uncertainty. Their village sits on land marked for an open-cast coal mine, a project that threatens to wipe out homes, livelihoods, and generations of heritage. Government records show that over 1,600 hectares of forest land in Hazaribagh have been cleared or approved for coal extraction, impacting more than 360 villages across the region. Nearly 40% of those displaced belong to Adivasi communities, who rely heavily on farming and forest produce for survival. Environmentalists warn that the loss of forest cover will accelerate ecological damage and cultural erosion. For the women smoothing mud over their walls, the gesture is both devotion and defiance, a final act of love for homes soon to be lost to coal.

October 11, 2025: Manki Marandi (46) grips a sal tree in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, a wordless protest as an open-cast coal mine threatens to erase her village. Once a region of dense greenery, nearly 45% of Hazaribagh’s land remains under forest cover, now under threat from expanding mining operations. District records reveal that 362 villages are directly or indirectly affected by coal projects, with over 1,600 hectares of forest land recently approved for extraction. For generations, tribal communities, making up roughly 40% of the affected population, have relied on these forests for their livelihoods, traditions, and sustenance. But as bulldozers close in, fears of deforestation, soil degradation, and cultural loss loom large. For the woman holding the tree, this embrace is not mere symbolism; it is a defiant plea to protect a vanishing world, her land, her identity, and her only home, from being consumed by coal.

April 07, 2023: In northern Chhattisgarh, the Hasdeo-Arand forest, widely described as the “lungs of Central India,” faces mounting pressure from expanding coal projects in Surguja and nearby districts. Government data released in 2024 revealed that nearly 94,500 trees had already been cleared for the Parsa East-Kete Basan (PEKB) mine, with another 2.7 lakh trees marked for felling in the coming years. The threat deepened when the State Forest Department approved the diversion of 1,742 hectares of forest land for the proposed Kente Extension coal block, sparking fears that more than 4.5 lakh trees could vanish. For the Adivasi communities of Ghatbarra and surrounding villages, the forest is inseparable from their livelihoods, traditions, and medicinal practices. Villagers allege that their legally recognized forest rights were revoked to make way for mining. Protests, sit-ins, and demands for accountability continue to intensify as they fight to safeguard their ancestral land.

March 24, 2022: Firefighters are pouring water to extinguish the wildfire at Korba. According to the forest department in Chhattisgarh, a total of 8,022 forest fires were reported in the year 2022, resulting in the destruction of approximately 16.87 square kilometers of forest area. These alarming figures highlight the growing threat of forest fires, which have become an annual disaster in the region, largely attributed to the impacts of climate change. Unfortunately, the forest department is ill-equipped and unprepared to effectively manage these forest fires.

September 19, 2022: A coal mine worker signals a coal-laden truck with a flag during a thunderstorm in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district. Coal mining in Chandrapur district has accelerated large-scale deforestation, reshaping one of Maharashtra’s most biodiverse landscapes. Forests around Wani, Ballarpur, and the Tadoba–Andhari buffer have been cleared for open-cast mines, roads, and waste dumps. This loss of tree cover disrupts wildlife corridors, pushing tigers, leopards, and herbivores closer to human settlements and increasing conflict.

September 19, 2022: A mining company is removing all the greenery for a new open-cast coal mine at Chandrapur, Maharashtra. The Maharashtra government and the Ministry of Environment, Government of India, have approved coal mining on 300 acres (121.58 hectares) of dense forest near Lagoon village in Chandrapur district. Adani Coal was granted mining rights here 13 years ago. This decision raises environmental concerns due to the presence of tigers and various wildlife species in the area. To proceed with mining, approximately 13,457 large trees and 64,349 bamboo clusters will be removed.

October 25, 2016: Workers at Jharia are loading coal into trucks using extraction machines. Jharia Coal Mine, situated in Jharkhand, India, stands as a significant contributor to the nation's coal production, particularly known for its prime coking coal essential in steel manufacturing. The coalfield boasts estimated reserves of 19.4 billion tonnes, making it one of India's largest coal reserves. Despite its vast reserves, the region faces challenges due to persistent underground coal fires, which have been active since at least 1916. These fires have consumed approximately 37 million tonnes of coal, leading to environmental degradation and health hazards for the local population. In terms of coal extraction, Jharia's daily production has seen fluctuations. Recent reports indicate that daily coal production in Jharia has increased to 100,000 tonnes, up from an average of 80,000 tonnes in 2021. This increase is attributed to the operation of more than 100 mines, with approximately one-third currently functional.

October 26, 2025: The crumbling remains of a solitary house still stand in Jharia as mining companies expand the coalfields after clearing entire nearby villages. Coal mine expansion in Jharia–Dhanbad is steadily swallowing surrounding villages as excavation zones spread outward each year. Official records show that more than 12,000 families have already been displaced from the Jharia coalfield under different rehabilitation phases. Over 1,700 hectares of land have been acquired for mining expansion and fire-control projects. Entire settlements vanish as homes are demolished and farmland is taken over by overburden dumps. Many villages lose access to water, roads, and schools overnight. While coal output increases, thousands of residents are pushed into temporary colonies, losing land, livelihood, and long-term economic security.

March 25, 2022: A tribal man from the Parsa Besan coal mine region sets out on a hunt. In Chhattisgarh’s Parsa-Besan coal belt, the expansion of the Parsa East-Kete Basan (PEKB) mine is forcing hundreds of tribal families from their ancestral villages. Official records suggest more than 700 residents from Hariharpur, Fatehpur, and Slahi face displacement, while nearly 840 hectares of dense forest are marked for clearance. For Adivasi communities, the forest is more than a resource it is a source of food, medicine, and cultural identity. Many allege their legally recognized forest rights were revoked without proper consultation, leaving them with little compensation and no real choice. As fears of losing both home and heritage mount, resistance has grown fierce. Villagers armed with traditional bows and arrows have staged marches, blocked mining routes, and vowed to escalate protests if their demands are ignored. The PEKB project, already granted Stage-II forest clearance, now stands as a flashpoint between India’s coal-driven energy ambitions and the survival of its indigenous peoples.

April 06, 2023: Sukmati Korwa, 26, holds her baby close as she stands in a forest marked for clearance to expand a coal mine in Surguja district, Chhattisgarh. In Surguja’s Ghatbarra village, hundreds of Adivasi residents have set up indefinite camps, determined to protect the forest they call home. Their sit-in protests reflect deep resentment after state authorities revoked their forest rights to make way for coal mining. For generations, these forests have been central to their livelihood, culture, and survival. Now, rapid deforestation linked to mining in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha is stripping away biodiversity and worsening the climate crisis. Tribal families, often displaced without fair compensation or rehabilitation, are left battling poverty, loss of livelihood, and fractured communities. The health costs are equally severe respiratory illnesses and contaminated water plague mining zones. Jharia remains a grim symbol, where underground fires and child labor reveal the human toll of coal dependency. Experts argue that real change demands urgent investment in renewable energy, alongside policies that prioritize communities and discourage reliance on fossil fuels.

October 18, 2019: In Indrachawk, Jharia, a former village pond has been converted into an overburden dump by mining companies, where excavated rocks and burnt coal waste are piled into massive mounds. Coal particles from continuous underground fires spread through the air, blanketing nearby homes in thick black dust. Emissions from these fires release toxic gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides, severely degrading air quality. Villagers inhale this polluted air daily, leading to widespread respiratory illnesses, persistent coughing, asthma, and skin disorders. Children and the elderly are the worst affected, as constant exposure to coal dust and toxic fumes is steadily undermining their health and reducing life expectancy.

October 03, 2021: Beauty Devi (35) takes a brief rest inside an abandoned coal tunnel in Jharia, Jharkhand, after extracting coal from a risky shaft. Underground illegal mining in Jharia has its roots in the early decline of regulated collieries, when abandoned seams were left untapped yet still rich in coal. Over decades, local syndicates and informal networks took control, digging narrow, hidden tunnels beneath villages, railway lines, and official mining blocks. These rat-hole–like shafts are unsupported, poorly ventilated, and completely unrecorded. Coal is extracted manually, carried out in sacks at night, and sold through shadow supply chains linked to traders and small depots. Despite periodic raids, operations restart quickly due to high demand and local dependency. This parallel mining economy now runs invisibly beneath Jharia, sustained by risk, poverty, and weak enforcement.

October 28, 2017: Jamuna Devi (29) and other women carry coal illegally from a mine in Jharia, Jharkhand. In Jharia, Jharkhand, local villagers risk their lives in abandoned and active coal mines, collecting coal to sell for meagre earnings. From dawn to dusk in Jharia, villagers illegally collect coal from the edges of open-cast mines as part of an informal survival economy. As excavation machines expose fresh seams, small groups wait for moments when security is weak. Using metal buckets, they scrape loose coal from overburden slopes and shallow pits. Each bucket is carried on the head or by bicycle to nearby collection points hidden among shanties. Middlemen weigh the coal, pay in cash on the spot, and transport it to roadside depots. The cycle repeats all day under dust, heat, and constant fear of arrest.

May 08, 2018: Coal mine workers pause for a brief tea break at a roadside stall in Jharia, Dhanbad, India’s most hazardous coal belt. Most earn only USD 4–7 a day, far below the national average daily wage of informal labourers. With over 70% of Jharia’s workforce employed informally, inconsistent shifts push many families into chronic debt.

October 04, 2021: Buffaloes bathe slowly in a pond in Jharia, Jharkhand, a haunting visual set against a village permanently damaged by decades of underground coal fire. Entire hamlets have collapsed from below, yet life continues above the burning earth. For thousands of families, these small communal water bodies remain a fragile lifeline, supporting animals, but also daily household water needs. In Jharia, the heat is not seasonal. It is structural. The air is permanently heavy. Toxic coal dust, heat radiation and combustion smoke create a hostile microclimate where every breath feels industrial. Farmers here say mining companies never account for what water loss means in coal lands. Coal residue, runoff and ash seep into ponds, contaminating the only available sources.

October 27, 2017: An elderly woman in Jharia burns raw coal to produce coking coal, which she sells to earn a living in the fire-scarred mining region. In Jharia, villagers illegally convert raw coal into coking coal using a simple open-air burning method. Small coal pieces are arranged in large heaps on bare ground, often near abandoned mine sites. The piles are ignited from one side and left to smolder slowly for several days. The outer layer burns while the inner coal hardens due to limited oxygen inside the heap. Thick black smoke rises continuously, polluting the air. Once cooled, the semi-coked coal is collected, filled into sacks, and sold cheaply to middlemen who supply small factories and local markets.

October 29, 2018: Nasir, an 18-year-old from Jharia, unloads coal illegally from a BCCL truck after bribing the driver for access to the load. Children and teenagers in Jharia enter the coalfields before sunrise, scavenging loose coal from abandoned pits and burning dumps to help support their families. Many earn barely USD 1–2 a day, collecting sacks of coal to sell to local vendors or small hotels in Dhanbad. With schools often inaccessible or unaffordable, work becomes routine by the age of 6–18, trapping them in the same cycle of poverty as their parents. The risks are constant: toxic fumes from century-old underground fires, collapsing slag heaps, and extreme heat that can flare without warning.

August 26, 2021: An underground fire in Balugada village of Jharia has forced several families to relocate to safer areas. Underground coal fires in Jharia have been burning for more than a century, with the first major fire recorded in 1916. Today, over 70 active fire zones continue to smolder beneath the surface, spreading across nearly 17 square kilometres of the coalfield. These fires are fuelled by abandoned and illegally mined coal seams, making extinguishing efforts extremely difficult. Temperatures underground reach hundreds of degrees Celsius, releasing toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, methane, and sulphur compounds. Despite multiple government rehabilitation plans, the fires keep advancing, steadily consuming land, infrastructure, and entire settlements.

August 01, 2018: Baburam, 9, wipes his eyes as he struggles against the toxic air in Katras, Jharia. During the monsoon in Jharia, underground coal fires create a strange and suffocating phenomenon as thick smoke spreads through rain-soaked air like dense fog. Moisture traps the fumes close to the ground, causing toxic vapours to drift slowly across villages, lanes, and rooftops. Visibility drops sharply as grey clouds roll through early mornings and evenings. The smell of burning coal mixes with damp earth, making breathing difficult. Smoke seeps from cracks in roads and courtyards, entering homes and schools. During these months, respiratory distress sharply increases, turning the monsoon into a season of silent suffocation.

October 27, 2025: Imran, 30, a coal truck driver in Jharia, Jharkhand, lies in recovery from severe bronchitis, a condition common among those living in India’s most fire-ravaged coalfields. In Dhanbad–Jharia, pollution from coal mining and underground fires has caused a severe public health crisis. Studies show particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) levels often reach 3–8 times higher than safe limits. As a result, asthma, chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis, and coal workers’ pneumoconiosis are widespread. Surveys indicate that over 60% of residents suffer from persistent respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, and breathlessness. Skin diseases, eye irritation, and headaches are also common due to toxic gases and coal dust. Children and the elderly face the highest risk, with reduced lung capacity and weakened immunity becoming increasingly common.

May 20, 2022: In Jharsuguda’s Banharpali area, the Ib Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired plant operated by the Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC), has become a focal point of growing concerns over water scarcity. With an installed capacity of 1,740 MW—including two older 210 MW units and two newer 660 MW units—the plant relies heavily on the Hirakud Reservoir for its cooling and operations. Local communities, however, say the impact is visible on the Ib River, which flows past the facility. Residents of Brajrajnagar and nearby villages report that during the dry season, the riverbed cracks and water nearly disappear. Traditional sources like ponds, borewells, and streams also dry up, leaving families dependent on water tankers for daily needs. While authorities maintain that water usage by the plant and nearby coal mines remains within permitted limits, villagers fear that unchecked industrial expansion will deepen the crisis, making water scarcity as persistent as the region’s worsening air pollution.

October 30, 2018: In Jharia, a doctor reviews the X-ray of Shankar Shaw’s wife as she battles a severe fever. Doctors in Dhanbad–Jharia regularly confront an overwhelming burden of lung disease linked to coal pollution. Government hospital data and local medical surveys indicate that nearly 1 in every 2 patients arriving at chest clinics shows symptoms of chronic respiratory illness. Outpatient departments for pulmonology often treat 150–200 patients daily, most suffering from asthma, COPD, silicosis, or coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. Doctors report that emergency admissions spike during winter and monsoon due to trapped smoke and toxic gases. Long-term oxygen therapy, inhalers, and repeated hospitalization have become routine for hundreds of families.

October 14, 2025: In Dhanbad, Jharkhand, chronic pollution and underground fires have created a hazardous living environment. The annual average PM₁₀ levels have placed Dhanbad among the most polluted cities in India, with values far exceeding the safe limit of 60 µg/m³. Recent data indicate that PM₂.₅ concentrations have reached around 89 µg/m³, nearly six times higher than the World Health Organization’s safe threshold. The city also recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 356 in June 2024, falling in the “hazardous” category. The nearby Jharia coalfield has been burning underground for over a century, affecting nearly 500,000 residents. These underground fires cause land subsidence, release toxic gases, and perpetuate dust and smoke in the air. Combined with coal dust and industrial emissions, the burning seams make living conditions in Dhanbad a severe environmental and public health challenge.

October 13, 2025: Young girls spend their days in the slums of Dhanbad, Jharkhand, after migrating from Hazaribagh following the evacuation of nearby coal mines. Jharkhand, which holds about 27% of India’s coal reserves, has seen intense coal evacuation that has uprooted thousands of villagers from different coal belts. Pushed out by expanding opencast mines and conveyor corridors, many families from Hazaribag, Ramgarh and Bokaro migrate to Dhanbad, the coal capital, to earn a daily wage as labourers. They rent single rooms in congested slums or old quarters near collieries and railway sidings. Dhanbad Municipal Corporation records over 1.16 lakh population in slums, almost 17% of the city, showing how migration feeds informal settlements. Men load coal, drive trucks, or work as contract miners; women clean houses, pick coal, or sell snacks at pit gates. Children grow up breathing coal dust instead of village air, their schooling often interrupted by work and eviction scares. For these displaced villagers, coal brings income, but also crowded, poorly built rented homes, unstable jobs, and an increasingly uncertain urban future.

October 27, 2025: At the banks of the Damodar River near Bowra coal mine in Jharia, women coal miners gather at dusk to perform Chhath Puja, offering prayers to the setting sun. Once known as the “Sorrow of Bengal,” the Damodar now bears the deep wounds of decades of mining, its waters darkened by coal dust and industrial waste. A Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report shows the river’s biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) exceeding 6 mg/L, more than double the safe limit of 3 mg/L, while iron and manganese levels remain several times higher than permissible standards.

October 14, 2025: In Jharia, Jharkhand, the government is advancing the Belgaria housing colony to relocate families whose homes are imperilled by decades of underground coal fires. These persistent fires have destabilized the land, leaving thousands of houses at risk of collapse and forcing residents to live in constant uncertainty. A recent survey by the Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority (JRDA) under its master plan revealed that nearly 98,314 structures, including private homes, encroached properties, and BCCL quarters, are vulnerable to subsidence and fire-related damage. While relocation promises safety, it also uproots families from neighbourhoods, memories, and livelihoods built over generations. Many relocated residents report that Belgaria, though equipped with housing, offers little employment, as coal mining has largely vanished from the area. Families demand government intervention to provide jobs, highlighting the economic void left behind.

October 14, 2025: Children from the village of Balugada in Jharia, along with their families, have received evacuation notices from Bharat Coking Coal Limited and are set to be relocated to Belgaria, Dhanbad, by April 2026. The long-awaited evacuation from the опас-prone coal belt of Dhanbad under the Jharia Coalfield is steadily transforming lives through safe relocation at Belgaria. Due to underground fires and land subsidence, nearly 80,000 families were identified for phased evacuation, with official notices already served to over 1.5 lakh residents across high-risk zones. So far, more than 11,000 permanent housing units have been constructed at Belgaria, and around 40,000 people have already shifted into safer, planned homes. These concrete buildings offer electricity, roads, water supply, and access to schools and healthcare—facilities many families never had earlier. The relocation is being carried out with support from Bharat Coking Coal Limited and government agencies. While the process continues in phases, the movement to Belgaria represents a hopeful transition from danger to dignity, safety, and long-term security for thousands of displaced coal-belt families.

April 22, 2021: A lone tree stands at the edge of the Jharia coal mine, a stark reminder of the sweeping deforestation caused by relentless mining expansion. The Jharia coalfield, one of India’s oldest and largest coal-producing regions, spans nearly 460 km², yet much of this landscape has been stripped of its natural cover. Decades of surface and underground mining, intensified by persistent coal-seam fires, have severely damaged vegetation, soil quality, and the region’s fragile ecology. Across Jharkhand, mining-related expansion has accelerated deforestation: between 2019 and 2024, about 2,658 hectares of forest land were officially diverted for mining projects, often without meaningful consultation with local communities. In the broader eastern coal belt, long-term studies show that mining has degraded nearly 35% of native land cover between 1994 and 2022, erasing forests, wetlands, and agricultural areas.