rg45

After excavation the coal needs haulage, storage, transportation and beneficiation, after which it is used. Throughout the total process coal-dust gets spread over the surrounding lands and greeneries. This also damages greenery growth and specially sprouting of fresh leaves.

Damage to greenery results in more barren land, more erosion, loss of surface water bodies by siltation, hence decrease in irrigation potential in the region which triggers the cycle of land degradation as detailed through Fig. 3.1. (Ghosh, 2000b). This total process, once started in mining areas works through number of "do-loops" in accelerated speed resulting into more damage to greenery as detailed in Fig. 3.2 (Ghosh, 2002). The ultimate effect is damage to ecosystem which is exhibited in the region's LUP. Studies from JCF corroborates this fact (Ghosh 2000a). Similar findings have been obtained from RCF, (Chatterjee & Ghosh, 1994), Singrauli coalfield (Sekhar, 1996) East Bokaro coalfield (Das, 1996) and Makum coalfield (Dutta, 1997), as detailed next.

A study on RCF (Chatterjee & Ghosh, 1994) has recorded gradual and very prominent decrease of area under cultivation and natural vegetation in this field through the period between 1929 and 1989 and generation of culturable wasteland over more than 33% land area of this field. The data is given in the table 7.1

Table 7.1: Depletion of green cover recorded through 60 years in Raniganj coalfield

S. N.	Feature	1929	1974	1988
1.	Cultivation area (sq km)	213.07	161.26	46.05
2.	Percentage area under cultivation (%)	71.02	50.42	15.36
3.	Natural vegetation covered area (sq km)	12.81	10.15	15.13
4.	Percentage area under natural vegetation (%)	4.27	3.38	5.05
5.	Culturable waste land sq.km.	-	-	100.36
6.	Percentage area under culturable wasteland (%)	-	-	33.45

Source: Chatterjee & Ghosh, 1994

A study from East Bokaro coalfield of Bihar (Das, 1996) revealed the change in LUP the mining area experienced in the period between 1929 and 1985, as being detailed in the table 7.2.

Table 7.2: LUP in the East-Bokaro coalfield

LU/LC classes	Area covered in %
LU/LC classes	1929	1976	1985
Built-up land	4.95	13.02	17.11
Crop land	55.31	44.41	42.38
Fallow land	-	0.01	0.81
Forest land	31.76	27.82	16.74
Wasteland	2.28	7.80	15.54
Surface water bodies	5.70	6.94	7.42

Source Das, 1996

The table shows that through 56 years of mining the region has experienced a loss of about 15% of its forest cover which amounts to (8879.38 ha - 4659.48 ha) i.e. a loss of 4219.90 ha of forest cover in 56 years, i.e. about 75.4 ha per year in a single coalfield together with loss of some cropland.

A study from Rihand reservoir and its surroundings in Singrauli coalfield (Sekhar, 1996) reveals data on loss of green cover (agricultural land and forest cover) in the area within a span of 13 years between 1982 to 1995 as detailed in the table 7.3.

The table shows a prominent decrease of agricultural land and forest land. Moreover open forest and degraded forest has increased at the cost of dense forest. Some forest land has gone under agriculture; land amounting to 180 ha has grown forest outside the notified forest area while 2360 ha of forest cover has been lost within the time span of 13 years. Loss of 2180 ha in 13 years means loss of around 168 ha per year.

A study from Makum coalfield (Dutta, 1997) indicates serious loss of forest land and some cropland, as detailed in the table 7.4.