NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

CENTRAL ZONAL BENCH

BHOPAL

WINTER INTERNSHIP 2018

TOPIC: - COAL MINING IN INNDIA

SUBMITTED BY

SUBMITTED TO: KAUSHAL SHARMA

Mr. Sanjay Shukla KUNAL MEHTO

Registrar DRISHTI YADAV

NGT, CZB, Bhopal SONAL KUSHWAH

SURYA DEV BHANDARI

YAJUR THAKUR
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Every project big or small is successful largely due to the effort of a number of wonderful
people who have always given their valuable advice or lent a helping hand. We sincerely
appreciate the inspiration; support and guidance of all those people who have been instrumental
in making this project a success.

We, the student of Himachal Pradesh National Law University (Shimla), are extremely
grateful to National Green Tribunal, Central Zonal Bench, Bhopal for the confidence
bestowed in us and entrusting our assignment.

At this juncture I feel deeply honoured in expressing my sincere thanks to Honourable Registrar,
Mr. Sanjay Shukla, for making the resources available at right time and providing valuable
insights leading to the successful completion of our assignment.

Last but not the least,

We would also like to thank all the advocates of National Green Tribunal, Central Zonal
Bench, Bhopal for their critical advice and guidance without which this project would not have
been possible.
ABSTRACT

The environmental challenges from coal mining include coal mine accidents, land subsidence,
damage to the water environment, mining waste disposal and air pollution These are either
environmental pollution or landscape change. A conceptual framework for solving mine
environmental issues is proposed. Clean processes, or remediation measures, are designed to
address environmental pollution. Restoration measures are proposed to handle landscape change.
The total methane drainage from 56 Chinese high methane concentration coal mines is about
101.94 million cubic meters. Of this methane, 19.32 million, 35.58 million and 6.97 million
cubic meters are utilized for electricity generation, civil fuel supplies and other industrial
purposes, respectively. About 39% of the methane is emitted into the atmosphere. The
production of coal mining wastes can be decreased 10% by reuse of mining wastes as
underground fills, or by using the waste as fuel for power plants or for raw material to make
bricks or other infrastructure materials. The proper use of mined land must be decided in terms
of local physical and socio-economic conditions. In European countries more than 50% of
previously mined lands are reclaimed as forest or grass lands. However, in China more than 70%
of the mined lands are reclaimed for agricultural purposes because the large population and a
shortage of farmlands make this necessary. Reconstruction of rural communities or native
residential improvement is one environmental problem arising from mining.

INTRODUCTION

Coal is a pre-dominant source of energy in India and has contributed significantly to the rapid
industrialization of the country. The importance of cod in the energy basket of India stems from
the belief of its relative abundance vis-a-vis other energy sources and current non viability of
large scale implementation of several of the alternate sources of energy. Coal currently accounts
for 55% of India’s total energy consumption, and according to most projections, it will remain
the most viable fuel for driving sustained economic growth for many years to come (see TERI
and PSA 2006; MoC 2005 and Planning Commission 2005). Accordingly, affordable and
sustainable supply of coal is inextricably linked to the goal of ensuring energy security for India.
About 75% of total coal consumed in the country is used for power generation. Other end-use
industries include cement, iron and steel, fertilizers, chemicals, etc. India is currently the third
largest producer of coal, and contributes 8% of the total coal production in the world (IBM
2012). Coal mining in India constitutes a share of 80% in the total mining, with the rest 20%
distributed among vanous raw materials such as gold, copper, iron, lead, bauxite, zinc, etc. The
coal industry, in 2007, had a turnover of Rs. 340 billion, which was around 1.2% of the GDP

The current gross geological coal resources are estimated at 286 billion tonnes (IBM 2012) and
if these estimates are correct, coal supply should be sufficient to meet India’s demand for at least
the next hundred years. However, these estimates do not take into account technical, economic,
and geological constraints associated with coal mining. Not all of this overestimated coal is
technically and economically feasible to mine. According to Batra and Chand (201]), the
estimated coal resources include coal that is inaccessible as it hes in protected areas or beneath
forests, villages, towns, or water bodies, and even includes coal that has been extracted and
burnt during the past 200 years (estimated at about |0 billion). It also includes coal lying at a
depth of 1200 m, whereas mining, of coal, either currently or in the near future, is not likely to
go beyond 300 m. Also, before nationalization, almost all cod came from underground mines
which had low recovery rates. Once these mines were closed due to exhaustion, the leh over coal
was sterilized but is still included in the resource eStimation.
Role of National Green Tribunal

National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of India which enables creation
of a special tribunal to handle the expeditious disposal of the cases pertaining to environmental
issues. It draws inspiration from the India's constitutional provision of Article 21, which assures
the citizens of India the right to a healthy environment.The legislated Act of Parliament defines
the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 as follows,

"An Act to provide for the establishment of a National Green Tribunal for the effective and
expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests
and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and
giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto".

The National Green Tribunal has cancelled the clearance given by the then Union Environment
and Forests Minister, Jairam Ramesh, to the Parsa East and Kante-Basan captive coal blocks in
the Hasdeo-Arand forests of Chhattisgarh, overruling the statutory Forest Advisory Committee.
The blocks requiring 1,989 hectares of forestland fell in an area that the government had initially
barred as it was considered a patch of valuable forest and demarcated as a ‘no-go’ area.

In a landmark order passed on April 17 2015, the tribunal issued an interim ban on rat-hole coal
mining and transportation of the mineral in the Meghalaya. The order came as a bolt from the
blue but it was one of the events, which wobbled Meghalaya to the core.

The Bhopal bench of the National Green Tribunal in a judgement in Original Application No.
16/2013 (CZ) observed ‘mining is required to be taken up only if it is compatible with the
objective of protecting the environment’ It has directed constitution of a high level committee
so that ‘Necessary penal action shall be initiated against those ML (Mining Lease) holders
who were found violating the provisions of Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution)
Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 as well as the ML
conditions and Forest Act’, and examine whether the mines require ‘cumulative Environment
Impact Assessment (EIA) study and then only granting EC under cluster approach as
envisaged in EIA Notification, 2006’.

HISTORY OF COAL MINING

The history of coal mining goes back thousands of years. It became important in the Industrial
Revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries, when it was primarily used to power steam engines,
heat buildings and generate electricity. Coal mining continues as an important economic activity
today. Compared to wood fuels, coal yields a higher amount of energy per mass and can often be
obtained in areas where wood is not readily available. Though it was used historically as a
domestic fuel, coal is now used mostly in industry, especially in smelting and alloy production
as well as electricity generation. Large-scale cod mining developed during the Industrial
Revolution, and coal provided the main source of primary energy for industry and transportation
in industrial areas from the 18th century to the 1905. Coal remains an important energy source
because of its low cost and abundance compared to other fuels, particularly for electricity
generation Coal is also mined today on a large scale by open pit methods wherever the coal
strata strike the surface or are relatively shallow. Britain developed the main techniques of
underground coal mining from the late 18th century onward, with further progress being driven
by 19th century and early 20th century progress. However, oil and its associated fuels began to
be used as alternatives from the 1865 onward.

By the late 20th century, coal was. for the most part, replaced in domestic as well as industrial
and transportation usage by oil, natural gas, electricity produced from oil, gas, nuclear power or
renewable energy sources. By 2010, coal produced over a fourth of the world's energy, and by
2050 it is expected to produce about a third

Since 1890, coal mining has also been a political and social issue. Coal miners' labour and trade
rations became powerful in many countries in the 20th century, and alien, the miners were
leaders of the belt or Socialist movements (as in Britain, Germany, Poland,Japan, Canada and
the US.) Since 1970, environmental issues have been increasingly important, including the
health of miners, destruction of the landscape from strip mines and mountaintop removal, air
pollution; and coal combustion's contribution to global warming.

ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH COAL MINING

Coal mining impacts the environment and ecology to an unacceptable degree, unless carefully
planned and controlled Some of the environmental impacts are felt immediately, while others are
perceived over the long term. The magnitude of the environmental impacts, however, vary with
the method of mining, scale and concentration of mining activities, geological and
geomorphological setting of the area, nature of deposits, land use pattern before the
commencement of mining operations, natural resources etc. The major environmental problems
at the mining stage are given below.

Destruction of forest & biodiversity

Over 60 per cent of coal resources in India are located in forest areas .Most coal blocks allocated
in the last few years have been in or adjoining forest areas Given the anticipated increase in
demand for coal, the problem of loss of forest cover will accentuate as the need to access forest
resources will increase manifold. estimated that the demand for forest land for mining will
increase from about 22,000 ha in 2005 to about 75,000 ha by 2025. Loss of forest cover not only
impacts the biodiversity and natural ecosystems, but also compounds the problem of climate
change, as there are fewer sinks available for C02 and consequently reduced carbon
sequestration Also, forest areas in many coal producing states are sources of non-timber forest
products such as mahua, tendu, chironji, bamboo, mushrooms, etc. With the loss of forests for
coal mining, communities dependent on these forest resources lose their traditional sources of
livelihood

Air pollution

For too long the coal industry has used our atmosphere like an open sewer for its airborne
pollution. These emissions fuel climate change, but they also pose a serious threat to our health
and environment These threats include smog. acid rain, toxic mercury. and fine particles that
embed deep in our lungs.

By breaking free from coal, we can fight both air pollution and climate change. The shih to 100
percent clean, safe renewable energy will be a huge double win for the health of people and our
planet

About airborne pollutants from coal plants

Burning coal is the biggest single source of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. But
coal power plants emit many harmful pollutants into the air, including:

sulphur dioxide (S02)

nitrogen oxides (NOx)

particulate matter (PM)

various trace metals including mercury (Hg)
Once these pollutants enter the air from cool plant stacks they can disperse and cause harm over
large areas.
Burning coal leads to acid rain and smog Coal
power plants release large amounts of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
Nitrogen oxides are greenhouse gases. but these pollutants also react with organic compounds to
form smog (ground level ozone). Harmful to our health. smog increases risk of asthma, lung
damage and premature death It also damages plants, making them vulnerable to disease and
extreme weather.

Nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide also contribute to acid rain.

When these pollutants mix with water, oxygen, and other chemicals in the air, they form nitric
and sulphuric acid The resulting acid rain can spread over a wide area, killing fish and plants. In
forests, acid rain damages tree leaves and strips nutrients from soils.

Coal burning releases toxic mercury

Globally, coal-fired power plants are the largest single source of mercury emissions. They
release over half of the mercury pollution from human activity. Mercury is a neurotoxin; it has
hamtful effects on the brain and nervous system.
By breaking free from coal, we can fight both air pollution and climate change. The shin to 100
percent clean. safe renewable energy will be a huge double win for the health of people and our
planet

Coal burning releases toxic mercury

Globally, coal-fired power plants are the largest single source of mercury emissions. They
release over half of the mercury pollution from human activity. Mercury is a neurotoxin; it has
harmful effects on the brain and nervous system.

Mercury released from power plants settles into the environment, spreading into groundwater
and entering the food chain via algae. From there It infects all life, from minnows to fish that
prey on them, and on to fish-eating birds and mammals. Passing ii'om lower to higher levels of
the food chain, mercury concentrations increase.

Particle pollution hurts our lungs

Also called particulate matter, or PM, particle pollution is possibly the most harmful emission
from coal power plants. These very small unburned pollution particles released directly from
coal plant smokestacks cause an estimated 800,000 premature deaths each year.

When inhaled, particle pollution can have wide-ranging and harmful health effects, including
asthma attacks, lung tissue damage, stroke, heart attack and premature death.

> Particles 2.5 microns (Pit/12.5) or smaller can penetrate deep into the lungs, and caused five
percent of global deaths, making this the sixth leading global risk ihctor in 2013, according to
the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study.

> The first analysis on death and disease due to coal power plants in India estimates 80,000 to
115,000 people died prematurely in a single year due to particle pollution 10 microns in size
(PMl0).

> Research co-authored by Greenpeace in China shows that PM2.5 pollution from the 196 coal-
fired power plants in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei capital region caused 9,900 premature deaths
and nearly 70,000 outpatient visits or hospitalizations during 20“. Seventy-five percent these
premature deaths were caused by Hebei province's 152 coal-End power plants.

Environmental problems of underground coal mining in India

Underground dust hazard in coal mining areas

The atmosphere of underground is under severe constraint because of the limited geometry of
opening, number of simultaneous mining activities, liberation of gases from the coal seams and
reaction of air with freshly exposed coal surface and pyrites. Rise in temperature by 1 0 C/ 22m
depth cover made the atmosphere hot while the seepage of water from the roof and walls
increases the humidity when the dust particles get segregated.
The dust particles causing harmful effect are divided into inert and proliferate groups. The inert
particles-line stone, and smoke soot do not impair lung function unless excessive deposition over
years. Proliferate group of dust includes free or crystalline silica and coal dust. The silicosis
giving rise to difficulty in breathing, reduction of chest expansion and susceptibility to
tuberculosis is because of the silica dust. Coal dust causes focal emphysema and results in
marked disability in advance stage. The disturbance in the lung function in the early stage of
fibrosis results in reduction in breathing or ventilator capacity and impairment of the process of
gas exchange. In either case, the change in function is associated with bronchitis or emphysema.

The dust concentration underground varies with the operation and location, quality of coal and
natural moisture content of the mine environment. Typical findings for an Indian mine is
summarized in the following table covering different operational sites (CMRS* Annual Report-
2012). All the measurements are taken with MRE 113, a Gravimetric Dust Sampler. The dust
concentration was high in case of dry, soft coal with high ash content. The dust particles size
under suspension varied from 1.5 micron to below 10 microns being most crucial and
responsible for pneumoconiosis amongst miners.

Surface atmospheric pollution in coalmining region in India

Mining below the surface destabilizes the ground, while the process of mining particularly
blasting under shallow cover causes vibration of the surface structures and noise menace. The
transfer of the raw coal, its beneficiation and handling generates coal dust while open burning
of coal for steam or other usage releases gaseous discharge to the surface atmosphere. The
movement of coal from the pit head to the loading or consumption points in open leaky trucks
or open wagons also adds coal dust to the environment all along the route. The dump from the
waste rocks, discharge of effluents from the machines and pumping out of the hard, polluted
water to the surface water sources make the water unfit for mass consumption. The surface
subsidence due to caving or fire damages the surface structures and endangers the surface
dwellers. The underground mines are ventilated by large size fans discharging up to 12,000 m 3
/min. through fan evasive of 3m to 5m diameter at over 200 mm pressure (Dhar, 2000). The
air absorbing moisture from the underground workings often reduces the suspended particulate
matter but the fumes of explosives, methane, SO2, and Oxides of Carbon are added to the
general body of air. The concentration of these hostile gases often creates a little impact over
the surface and the population nearby. With the latest realization about the impact of these
green house gases over the Ozone layer has drawn the attention of the global community and
efforts are made on to drain methane and put it to use as a fuel. The biodiversity and the local
populace are also disturbed by the mining activities though they were mostly underground

Measures to control dust

The concentration of dust in the presence of moisture underground has shown decreasing trend
because of agglomeration of the suspended particulate matter. The use of scrubber at different
critical points as such could suppress the dust generation and dispersal. Even in the case of
conventional loading of the blasted coal. Water spraying has been practiced to control the dust
in Indian mines. The system is quite popular in case of continuous miners and transfer points of
the conveyors. The water infusion in the coal seam and spraying of water during cutting has
been practiced for dust suppression.

Plain water or water mixed with surfactants and polymers has been injected into dry low volatile
coal seams to reduce the dust generation in the India. The surfactant in very low dilution
improved the dust suppression by 15 to 20% compared to plain water. The best arrangement
appeared to have one spray behind each cutting bit that provided 4 liters/minute of water at 1-2
MPa*. Hydro jet cutting in shearer has been a common practice to reduce the dust generation
during fast cutting of coal at high productive faces.

Noise pollution due to mining activities

The noise is now being recognized as a major health hazard; resulting in annoyance. Cases of
Partial hearing loss and even permanent damage to the inner ear after prolonged exposure are
noticed. The problems of underground are of special importance because of the acoustics of the
confined space. The ambient noise level of the underground mining area is affected by the
operation of the cutting machines, tub/conveyor movement and blasting of the coal. The
movement of coaling machines and transport units-conveyor, tubs and transfer points caused
audible noise which becomes disturbing underground because of the poor absorption by the
walls .

The most noise generating equipments in underground are the haulage, ventilators-main,
auxiliary and forcing fans, conveyor transfer points, cutting and drilling machines. The ambient
noise level due to different operations in underground mines varies within 80-1040 dB (A). In
Raniganj and Jharia coal field, the noise level near fan house, conveyor system shearer and road
headers is reported to be within 92-93 dB (A). The degree of pollution is increased in many
Indian mines due to poor maintenance of the machines, which sometimes exceed the permissible
limit of 90 dB (A) for 8 hours per day exposure. The transfer points of the coal underground
were the main point of the noise menace. The result of a noise survey for a coal mine conducted
by DGMS† is summarized in the following table, which indicates noise over 90 dB by the drills,
breaking and crushing units and transport system underground .

Impact of underground mining on surface domain

Most of the leases acquired for the mining purpose are interior barren land, agricultural farms, or
government controlled fallow and forest cover. The development of the underground mining
establishments, residential complex and civic amenities required nearly 10% of the total lease
area which has to be restored at the cost of forest, farms, or fallow land (Dhar, 2000). These
lands are used for the common facility development with the marginal disturbance to the soil
cover and green carpet. However the naturalized biological genes of the mining area are driven
out or disturbed with the human settlement, noise nuisance has been created by heavy vehicles
and construction of jungle of concrete. With the clearing of the exotic plants, the natural plant
succession of the area is hindered and the loss of the green cover followed soil erosion.

The non mining activities like burning of coal in open stock, active fires and road transport
of the coal have added a new dimension to the atmospheric pollution in this region. The sources
of pollution associated with underground mining are summarized as follows:
a) Change in land use pattern and land depredation.
b) Ground Vibration with blasting.
c) Suspended particulate in the atmosphere.
d) Noise and vibration menace due to mining and vehicular movement.
e) Societal problems due to cultural, economic invasion and displacement.

Change in land use pattern due to mining activity

 The underground mining has caused land degradation because of surface subsidence, solid
waste and coal dumping, underground fire and silting of the surface. The disturbance of the
aquifers and subsurface water table follows loss of green cover and vegetable mass. The
subsidence and disturbance of hydraulic regime has been dealt separately because of their
importance. The bunker age in Indian coalfields have been very poor when the excavated coal
has to be stocked open along the railway siding. In the off seasons the pit head stock varied up to
the production level of 15 days in a month covering a large area. The green cover over the patch
is lost and the dust pollutes the area under the influence of underground mining and fire,
affecting even the local non mining population. The waste rocks are picked and scattered around
created severe eye shore. The surface condition of Jharia coalfield is self revealing.

As the size, shape and magnitude of the dumps varied with demand, the land degradation
under its influence is variable. Nevertheless, an area once under coal heap remained permanent
eye shore unless reclaimed by systematic plantation.

Land Disturbance due to mining activity

Leaseholds for the underground mines are procured from the land lords who have granted them
the right for underground coal. The land for houses, dwellings and the associated activities are
purchased piecemeal from different sources while large portion of the surface right remains
under the control of farmers and landlords. Underground mining in these areas are conducted
with full responsibility of the surface protection by the operators who normally maintains pillars
as the natural support to the surface features. Now the condition is very damaging under the
Jharia coalfield where thick coal seams are worked under shallow cover. There are some pockets
in the coalfield which have subsided by over 10m due to repeat depillaring activities. In
geologically
disturbed areas, deep pot holes are formed through which valuable fertile soil is drained to
underground and many times surface structures are damaged, distorted or spoiled .
The land of Jharia coalfield is under regular threat because of mining operation; failure of pillars
and stocks, pillar crushing and advancing fire in adjacent pockets. The story of Raniganj
coalfield is in no way different where nearly 4000 He of land subsided up to the year 2010. The
impact of underground coal mining in terms of loss of agricultural land is estimated to be nearly
1000 He in Jamuria, Asansol and Kulti blocks of Raniganj coalfield until today.

Water pollution due to mining activity

The hydraulic cycle starting from ocean to sky and ultimately precipitation to the earth is no
exception for the coalfield where the rain, natural moisture and surface to subsurface water
sustain biodiversity of the region. The infiltrated water is charged to the coal measure aquifers
and is retained by the aquiclude or aquifuge. Depending upon the thickness, porosity,
permeability and storage coefficient of the rock mass, the capacity of the aquifers varies
extensively over Damodar valley to Pench Kanhan coalfields. The coal seams are known to be
impervious, restricted the cross infiltration when different layers charges along the exposure
serves as the confined aquifers. The extraction of the coal has followed disturbance of the
aquifers and lowering of the water table. In this process mineral leaching occurs, affecting the
water quality of underground. The water pollution problems in mining may be broadly classified
into the following four major heads
Acid mine drainage due to sulfur content
Deoxygenating and Eutrophication of coal

Hardness of water due to leached

Heavy metal pollution oil, tan and grease mixing in water

The mine effluents have high level of dissolved chlorides, nitrates, phosphates or sulfates
of sodium, calcium magnesium and iron. At low levels, nitrates, and phosphates act as nutrients,
causing rapid growth of algae and subsequent deoxygenating while at higher level, the character
of the water is altered with deleterious effect over the fishes. The bicarbonates, sulfates,
chlorides and calcium and magnesium cause hardness of the water and make it unsuitable for
industrial and human consumption. involved in the total land degradation. The sample survey
presented earlier shows that agricultural land has generally been 18–55 percent of land degraded
in a project. The quantum of agricultural land involved increases with mining entering into a
relatively new area, whereas when the project is on an area where mining activities are already
in full swing, the quantum of agricultural land involved may be smaller. A reasonable estimate
may be that 35–40 percent of the total land involved may be agricultural land, which means
around 10,000 hector of agricultural land may be involved in the Raniganj coalfield during the
process of mining up to 2010. The total land use pattern in the coalfield has never been verified
in Raniganj coalfield though some aerial survey data is available for Jharia coalfield.