Modi Wants Mines Shut, Jharkhand CM Wants Extra Tax On Coal

The Jharkhand government is planning to introduce a transition tax on coal to create a fund that will be utilized for the rehabilitation of coal mine workers.

In an interview with Outlook Business, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that mine workers will be affected the most because of the closure of mines owing to the transition from coal to renewable energy sources, and hence his government is planning to re-skill and rehabilitate such workers.

“As a part of our plan to work out resources for rehabilitation, my government aims to introduce a transition tax on coal. The money that will be collected from this tax will be utilized by the state to provide alternative livelihood opportunities to such people who will be impacted because of the transitions,” Soren said.

Jharkhand has the highest coal reserves in the country however in terms of production it comes fourth after Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.

According to the statistics of the Ministry of Coal, in the first quarter of the financial year 2022-23, Jharkhand produced 31.96 MT of coal which is about 25 percent higher than the respective quarter of 2021-22.

India’s pledge to increase its renewable energy share to half of the total energy demand by 2030 poses a threat to the livelihood of millions of coal miners and professionals and respective state governments are adopting various measures to deal with the situation.

Soren admits that the transition will create an employment crisis in the state and his government is working out a contingency plan and other measures to mitigate the crisis.   

“Besides transition tax, the current focus is also around how to utilize the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) fund to develop the capabilities of the people in the mining regions so that they are able to find alternative sustainable livelihood opportunities,” Soren said.

He also said that the current government is laying a lot of emphasis on developing tourism in the state.

“We have realized that mining tourism has a lot of potential as it attracts a lot of tourists from all across. We are planning to employ the workers, who will become jobless, in that sector as well in the future,” He said.

He added, “Besides this, green jobs in the field of renewable energy have a lot of potential in the coming future. That's another area where the capabilities of the people need to be built to meet the future demand of the workers in this sector.”