Hasdeo Arand coalfield
Topic: Energy Resources of India: Conventional and Non-conventional · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Hasdeo Arand is a coalfield in north Chhattisgarh. It lies under a dense sal forest, which is an elephant corridor (a route elephants use to move between habitats). It is also home to Gond tribal villages. Coal is mined there for Rajasthan's state power company. Mining means cutting down forest, so villagers and environmental groups have protested for a long time. The case shows the clash between energy needs and forest and tribal rights.
Example
Protests by Gond villagers in the Hasdeo Arand forest of north Chhattisgarh against tree-felling for coal mines for Rajasthan's power company are a regular current-affairs topic.
Don't confuse with
- Jharia coalfield: Jharia's problems are underground coal fires burning since about 1916 and the resettlement of people under the Jharia Master Plan. Hasdeo's problem is clearing an intact forest and tribal homeland for new mines.
Related concepts
- Coal reserves distribution
- Jharia coalfield
- Raniganj coalfield
- Singrauli coalfield
- Coal-bed methane
- Coal gasification