March 6, 2024
#JustTransition from #coal demands undoing historical injustices by returning land to communities. However, a @LandConflicts
research on closed coal mines in Jharkhand reveals private players have not returned a single mine even to the state. A thread by @sukriti_vats
While the Jharkhand govt officials argued that they couldn’t take on #JustTransition initiatives unless they had the land back, the coal ministry defines no policy provisions for returning the land to its original owners after the mining lease expires.
In 2022, Jharkhand was the first state to set up a task force to ensure that the shift from coal to clean energy would be equitable. But a year since then, the ground reality looks ‘unjust’.
#JustTransition involves keeping the local communities at centre of such an energy shift i.e. ensuring that workers involved directly or indirectly in the fossil fuel-reliant economy are offered alternative sustainable livelihood.
Furthermore, the Coal Bearing Area Amendment Bill 2023, i.e., the proposal to extend the mining lease to life was opposed by the Jharkhand govt as it could harm the initiative of returning the land to the local communities.
Another important aspect to mitigate impact of transition from coal to renewables as part of #JustTransition was ensuring that mines abandoned or earmarked for closure are shut down ‘scientifically,’ which means the land is restored to a pre-mining state.
However, as per an RTI response from the coal ministry’s subsidiary firm Central Coalfields Limited, no coal mine in Jharkhand had yet to be formally closed despite having their reserves exhausted.
The concept of Just Transition has been around since the 1980s. However, in recent years it has gained traction to meet climate goals such as India’s pledge for net zero carbon emissions by 2070.
Experts say that many coal companies in Jharkhand had abandoned mines or discontinued their work because of the cost associated with land rehabilitation - part of the closure process.
The abandoned/discontinued coal mines are prone to illegal mining and if they are not formally closed, they could be re-opened for mining by giving to the private sector.
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