CAG Pulls Up Bengal Over Poor Protection of Tribal Rights in Coal Mining Projects

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has raised serious concerns over the West Bengal government's handling of tribal land acquisition for coal mining projects, alleging that inadequate oversight deprived Scheduled Tribe landowners of fair compensation and proper rehabilitation between 2017-18 and 2021-22.

The audit examined 66 land acquisition cases involving Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) and Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) across multiple mining areas. According to the report, district-level officials, including revenue officers and district collectors, failed to play the mandatory supervisory role, resulting in significant shortcomings in compensation and rehabilitation.

The CAG found that against an assessed market value of ₹17.79 crore, tribal landowners received only ₹2.55 crore through negotiated purchases, leaving a shortfall of ₹15.25 crore, or 85.68 per cent of the estimated value.

The report further stated that the affected families were also denied the mandatory 100 per cent solatium under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, amounting to another ₹17.80 crore. It also noted that the legally mandated 12 per cent annual additional compensation on market value was not paid in any audited case.

Highlighting disparities, the CAG said tribal landowners received ₹2.50 lakh to ₹12.63 lakh per acre, while compensation for government land ranged between ₹19.77 lakh and ₹1.25 crore per acre.

The audit also identified serious rehabilitation gaps, including the absence of mandatory socio-economic and social impact assessments in some project areas and failure to prepare Rehabilitation Action Plans with district authorities.

ECL officials maintained that land was acquired through direct purchases after obtaining statutory approvals and that employment is provided for every two acres acquired. BCCL said compensation was determined through negotiations with landowners.

Rejecting these explanations, the CAG recommended greater involvement of district collectors in land acquisition and urged Coal India to establish dedicated project groups to oversee rehabilitation and resettlement of tribal families affected by mining activities.