This has resulted in the erosion of top soil and 
subsurface soil layers, which are protective profile 
for sustenance of plant life. The areas nearby the coal 
mines and overburden dumps have a thick coating of 
coal dust on the surface. Near the confluence of 
Saphi and Damodar river, the river bed is found 
black on account of coal dust from nearby Piparwar 
project. 
Changes in land use / land cover: The change 
detection studies have revealed that there is a 
substantial change in land use/land cover during the 
last one and half decades. Substantial forest has been 
depleted/degraded because of the increased demand 
of fuel requirement, house construction and 
agricultural use due to increase in population 
pressure. The coal mine / dump areas have increased 
from 1975 to 1990 at the expense of degraded forest/ 
scrub land and agricultural crop land. Though, very 
minimal forest area has been lost due to coal mining, 
the situation in the northern blocks of Karanpura 
coalfield is quite different, where many of the blocks 
have substantial forest cover and fertile agricultural 
land. The proposed coal mining in these blocks is 
likely to cause the following major changes in land 
use / land cover, apart from the loss of habitated 
areas - 
i) Loss of deciduous forest = 2,375 ha 
ii) Loss of degraded forest / scrub land = 10,870 ha 
iii) Loss of agricultural crop land = 17,320 ha 
The above figures are based on block-wise area 
statistics, since, at this stage, the actual area to be 
affected by the mining outside the block boundaries 
is not known. 
Effect of mining on surface and ground water 
Coal mining, both opencast and underground, 
affects the surface and ground water conditions 
seriously. The opencast and underground coal mines 
invariably extend below the water table. Therefore, 
whenever mining interrupts water table, enormous 
quantities of water is pumped out to render mining 
activity possible. This leads to lowering of regional 
ground water table, thereby disturbing the hydrological 
balance of the area. The loss of top soil and deforestation 
also deplete the ground water table. The effect of mining 
on the ground water table near the coal mines in 
Karanpura coalfield could not be studied mainly because 
of the lack of historical data of wells. However, it is well 
proven in other coalfields, e.g. Jharia and Raniganj, that 
mining does cause lowering of regional water table to a 
considerable extent, particularly in the up-dip direction. 
The quality of surface and ground water also 
deteriorates significantly due to coal mining. In 
Karanpura coalfield, the surface and ground water near 
the coal mines/overburden dumps show increase in 
electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, NCf and 
total hardness. It is also expected that coal mining in the 
northern blocks may cause sulphate pollution in ground 
water, as the coal seams are associated with the sulphide 
minerals, particularly pyrite. 
Coal Fire 
The coal fire, apart from causing huge loss of coal 
through burning, pollutes the environment substantially 
by emitting noxious gases like C0 2 , CO, N0 2 , S0 2 and 
unburnt hydrocarbons, affects the surface installations, 
and also damages the quality of coal in nearby seams. 
The problem of coal fire in Karanpura coalfield, though, 
not as critical as in Jharia and Raniganj coalfields, needs 
immediate attention before the situation becomes 
beyond control. 
Air Pollution: In coal-mining districts, the removal 
and disposal of overburden and coal, the use of 
explosives, transportation of heavy vehicles, and the 
industrial complexes cause severe air pollution. The 
mining operations inject aerosols (particles 
suspended in the air) in the lower layer of the 
atmosphere, i.e. the troposhere. Coal-fired thermal 
power plants, furnaces, coal mine fire, and coal 
washeries also release gases like S0 2 , N0 2 , C0 2 , 
CO, etc. into the atmosphere. 
Satellites have been increasingly used to study the 
smoke plumes emanating from the industrial 
complexes. The dispersion of smoke plume 
emanating from Patratu thermal power station in 
Karanpura coalfield has been studied by using 
multidate and multisensor satellite data of various 
time periods starting from 1975 to 1990. 
Jharia and Raniganj Coalfields: Jharia coalfield 
situated in Dhanbad district of Bihar state is the store 
house of the best quality coking coal in India. It lies 
between latitudes 23°27’ to 23°52.’ N, and longitudes 
86°06’ to 86°30’ E, occupying about 460 sq. km. 
Raniganj coalfield in West Bengal state is bounded 
by N latitude 23°25’ to 23°55’ and E longitude 
86° 10’ to 87°50’, occupying about 2000 sq. km. 
Though land degradation and environmental 
problems due to coal mining activity remains nearly 
the same like Karanpura coalfield, in Jharia coalfield, 
coal mine fire is an acute problem, due to which 
severe land subsidence takes place and mostly the 
area is unsuitable for habitation. This leads to strong 
socio-cultural and socio-economic problems for 
rehabilitation.