The master plan will involve rehabilitation of affected people in the vicinity of the Jharia coal mine in Jharkhand. There will be allocation of fund for the rehabilitation of affected people to other areas, sources added.
The latest Jharia Master Plan (JMP) expired in August 2021 and was approved by the government on August 12, 2009, for a period of 12 years with an estimated investment of ₹7,112 crores. The Master Plans covered aspects of fire management and rehabilitation of impacted people.
As per data from September 2023, the fire-affected area has significantly reduced from 77 sites (pre-nationalisation era) to 67 sites covering 17.32 sq km to 27 sites covering 1.8 sq km.
Since the first incidence of fire in 1916, the number of such incidents in the Jharia coal field have increased within the overburden debris.
Prior to nationalisation, these mines were privately owned and operated with a profit-driven approach.
After nationalisation, Polish team and Indian experts were appointed in 1978 to study the Jharia coal fire incidents. The probe identified 77 fires across 41 collieries of BCCL. The government had in 1996 constituted a high-power committee to address fire incidents and rehabilitate the residents. Two masterplans were formulated in 1999 which were revised and updated in 2004.
Out of the estimated 107MT of coal in 16 locations, approximately 43 MT had been extracted by June 2023, value of which is about ₹14,000 crore, the government had stated in a release.