Coal Mining and Rural Ecology: A Study in Talcher, Odisha

Abstract

Coal plays a fundamental role in global energy development but it has number of challenges. According to Downing (2002) mining results in large scale displacement of the local people and derails their normal life. There are issues that are required to be addressed in the context of coal abundant but economically poor state like Odisha, for example how does coal mining influence the environment and health of the people? Whether the health policies implemented by the mining companies are discriminating non employees? How is the CAMPA fund utilized by the government agencies. The role of institutions in the mining affected villages is also analyzed in the present study. The study has employed both primary and secondary data which would has been collected from sample surveys, formal and informal interviews from two of the mining affected villages in Talcher. Both qualitative and quantitative data are analyzed in the backdrop of the study using content analysis and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) respectively.