Abstract
Commonly presented as arising from poor policing and corruption, and as destroying the environmental commons, "illegal" production and marketing of coal is a significant aspect of everyday life in eastern India. Representations of illegality hide unpleasant social realities of the coal mining tracts: poor environmental performance of the state-owned mining sector, social disruption and displacement of communities, and a general decay in the traditional subsistence base. This paper works through the complex layers of mining laws and investigates whether the laws protect the interests of the disadvantaged. It offers a rethinking of what causes and constitutes illegality when a large number of people's livelihoods depend on this kind of mining.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Coal Nation: Histories, Ecologies and Politics of Coal in India |
Editors | Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt |
Place of Publication | Farnham, UK and Burlington, USA |
Publisher | Ashgate Publishing Ltd. |
Pages | 39-62 |
Edition | 1st |
ISBN (Print) | 9781472424709 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |