Important Problems of Coal Mining in India are mentioned below:
i. Most of the coal deposits occur in the north-eastern part of the Indian peninsula. Other parts of the country either have no coal deposits or limited reserves of poor quality coal. Coal distribution is highly uneven throughout India.
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ii. Coal has to bear very high cost of transportation from the mines to the consuming centres. Thus, the coal-consuming industries have to pay a high price for coal.
iii. Much of the Indian coal is non-coking grade. This is unsuitable for metallurgical industries. The Gondwana coal has high ash content, while the Tertiary coal has high sulphur content.
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iv. More than 90 per cent of the coal is transported by railways. The problem in transportation arises due to lack of railway facilities, variation in gauges, shortage of wagons, slow movement of trains, pilferage, etc.
v. The coal mining techniques are old and outdated and most of the work is done through manual labour. This leads to high production cost in India.
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vi. The coal dust in the mines and near the pit-heads creates environmental pollution, adversely affecting the miners and their families.
vii. The burning of coal in factories and thermal plants releases many toxic gases in the atmosphere. The safety measures are expensive.
viii. There are heavy losses due to pilferage, and fire in the coal mines and at pit-heads. This leads to a hike in the coal prices.
ix. Power shortage, especially in the Damodar Valley region hampers the mining work. It is a serious problem.