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Assessing the Impact of Coal Mining on Diversified Sources of Rural Livelihoods: A Case Study in the Ib Valley Coalfield Area of Western Odisha, India

Author Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, INDIA

Int. Res. J. Social Sci., Volume 4, Issue (6), Pages 83-88, June,14 (2015)

Abstract

Extraction of coal and minerals has become an indispensable activity for industrial and societal development. But since its invasion it has been considered as a societal and environmental unfriendly substance as it creates unbearable damages on each and every component of the environment as well as society. Generally, most of the coal bearing areas exists in forest cum-agricultural zones which usually are socially and economically underdeveloped. Up to some extent, the coal mining industries prove their brilliance by providing employment opportunity and some infrastructural betterment. Certainly with the prologue establishment of these coal mining projects not only the economic development grows up, but on the other hand, some serious issues like land acquisition, mass scale displacement, loss of livelihood opportunities, air water and noise pollution, loss of biodiversity etc. crop up. Again the rural regions which have their peculiar source of diversified livelihood are becoming resource less. As a result the diversified sources of livelihood were clutched by mining activities. Reflecting on above background and taking the primary information and personal experiences into account the present paper has made an attempt to focus on the impact of coal mining on the diversified sources of livelihood in the Ib valley coalfield area. The paper concludes that though mining is providing improved income earning opportunity still it has apprehended the diversified sources of livelihood which endures a basic ingredient for rural livelihood generation.

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