Coal mining in India :--

Coal mining problems in India :---
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Important Problems of Coal Mining in India are mentioned below:

i. Most of the coal deposits occur in the north-eastern part of the Indian peninsula. Other parts of the country either have no coal deposits or limited reserves of poor quality coal. Coal distribution is highly uneven throughout India.
ii. Coal has to bear very high cost of transportation from the mines to the consuming centres. Thus, the coal-consuming industries have to pay a high price for coal.

iii. Much of the Indian coal is non-coking grade. This is unsuitable for metallurgical industries. The Gondwana coal has high ash content, while the Tertiary coal has high sulphur content.

iv. More than 90 per cent of the coal is transported by railways. The problem in transportation arises due to lack of railway facilities, variation in gauges, shortage of wagons, slow movement of trains, pilferage, etc.

v. The coal mining techniques are old and outdated and most of the work is done through manual labour. This leads to high production cost in India.

vi. The coal dust in the mines and near the pit-heads creates environmental pollution, adversely affecting the miners and their families.

vii. The burning of coal in factories and thermal plants releases many toxic gases in the atmosphere. The safety measures are expensive.

viii. There are heavy losses due to pilferage, and fire in the coal mines and at pit-heads. This leads to a hike in the coal prices.

ix. Power shortage, especially in the Damodar Valley region hampers the mining work. It is a serious problem.
X. Import dependency of good quality coal for coking is not good for energy sector and fiscal health. Around 213 mt import leads to loss of foreign exchange.
Xi. Delayed the coal mining due to NO GO clause in ecosensitive zones. Thus delayed due to no environmental and forest clearances.
Xii. Land aquisation problems.
Xiii. Allocation process was arbitrary, discretionary, and non-transparent.
Xiv. Monopoly of coal India, which has low productivity,
Xv.  higher operational and maintenance cost because of strict regulatory issues.
Xvi. State pollution control boards are ineffective at monitoring and enforcing compliance.
Xvii. Investment in coal sector is low..esp FDI..
Xviii. Coal pricing system lacks the rational system based on merits..
Xix. Lack of competition among stakeholders...