The political ecology of coal mining in the Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya
Student name: Mr Ezra Lawanker Rynjah
Guide: Dr Smriti Das
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: TERI University
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr Julien-Francois Gerber
Abstract: Environmental friendly bans are often seen to be a victory for indigenous
communities. This paper examines how such generalizations may not always be
true and that communities are often not homogeneous. A case study of the ban on
coal mining in the state of Meghalaya as ordered by the National Green
Tribunal on the 17th of April 2014 is used to elucidate this point. The complexity
of human interests and values in the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya is examined
through qualitative interviews with relevant stakeholders. We have found that
livelihoods have been distinctly altered by rat-hole mining. We also find that the
ecological distribution conflict emerged out of the effects of coal mining and is
being driven by incommensurable values and a clash between property and
possession rights within a legally plural context. We suggest that bans are not
necessarily the best way to resolve such ecological conflicts but such resolution
requires addressing the aforementioned factors holistically.
Key words: National Green Tribunal, Coal, Ecological Distribution Conflict,
Political Ecology, Ban
