The decision of the Centre to privatise commercial extraction of coal may not be beneficial for Odisha having 25 per cent of the coal reserve of the country.
There has been persistent suffering of people in coal reserve areas due to mining for last few decades with very little enforcement of environmental legislations and entitlements for the affected people and areas as reparation against the loss. The coal royalty periodic revision and its sharing depend on the Centre as it comes under the Central Act. The Centre must respect the spirit of cooperative federalism over resource ownership and its management as well as benefit sharing with States.
