Impact of Expanding Coal Industry on the Regional Environment in an Indian Coal-Belt - A Case Study from Jharkhand, India

Abstract

Environmental sustainability of coal industry is a major concern considering the trends of its exponential effect on the region and towards climate change. The study examines the land use/land cover changes using spatio temporal datasets of the years 2000 and 2020 in Dhanbad district which comes under the major coal-belt of India. The study shows the impact of expanding industries on the environment depicting a remarkable decrease in vegetation (18.89%), increase in built-up land (14.32%) and coalfields (0.9%) exhibiting massive deforestation activities. The study focuses on the increase in emissions from coal mining activities including GHGs, SOx, PMs, etc. over the years and their harmful impacts on the region. The sustainability evaluation of the coalfields of the study area is done through 15 predetermined indicators, suggesting the urgency and need of actions for sustainable functioning of coal mining industry in order to limit global warming to below 2 °C as suggested in the Paris Agreement-2016. The study also lays stress on the changing economic pattern of the region as an effect of increasing industrialization and changes in the land use.