Coal India accused of bulldozing human rights amid production boom
According to a report by Amnesty International, state-owned Coal India and its subsidiaries in the states of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have neglected both local and international human rights law in the eviction and land acquisition process as mining operations expand...The brunt of the coalmine expansion, according to Amnesty, is being borne by India’s Adivasi aboriginal communities. Aruna Chandrashekhar, a researcher at Amnesty, said...Adivasi communities in these areas have been routinely shut out from decision-making processes around their traditional lands, rights and resources...Many have had to wait for decades for the compensation and rehabilitation they were promised when their land was acquired. The violations of their rights to consultation and consent – around land acquisition, environmental impacts, indigenous self-governance and the use of traditional lands – has led to serious impacts on their lives and livelihoods.