Relationship of tribal people with the forest: A case study on the issue of open cast mining at dihing Patkai

Forests are the source of life especially for the indigenous people, who are dependent on the forest which provides them with natural elements of life for their survival. Interference from the outside world especially in the name of development by the government organisations affects their livelihood and natural habitat forcing them to leave their lifestyle along with the depletion of natural resources and agricultural practices due to commercialization of forests. With growing demand for mineral resources and favourable policy towards the mining sector, developing countries have become investment hubs for mineral extraction. Extractive industries such as coal mining generate negative externalities that bring irreversible changes in the socioeconomic and ecological scenarios, which adversely affect the local economy and threaten the sustainability of local livelihood systems. On other side this expansion of mines has provided employment to locals directly as well as indirectly, which has helped to increase finance. In recent years the discussion around coal mining impacts has become interspersed with that of forest loss. This is primarily because a large amount of coal reserves of the country is known to be located in areas which are forested, or officially recognised as forests, these forest lands are crucial for the survival of forest dependent communities (both tribal and non-tribal) as well as the wild flora and fauna which these habitats support. The objective of this paper is to analyse the effects of coal mining on local traditional livelihood systems in the Saleki area of the DehingPatkai Elephant Reserve in Assam. The results show that rural households in the mining area experience both positive and negative outcomes from the coal mining activities. Coal industry is one of the most significant legacies of the British rule in Assam. The introduction of the coal mining industry marked a landmark in the economic history of Assam and invited labour from places like Nepal, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh thus created a major change. Hence, rapid underground and opencast mining going on in this area leads to various land use changes in the mine operating areas.