Labour in Mining Industry in Eastern India

Abstract

In India, mineral resources play a significant role in the process of industrialization and development. Mining of resources is therefore important in terms of GDP and foreign newlineexchange. In India, mining sector has provided income opportunities for skilled as well as unskilled labourers in both formal and informal mines from the colonial time and which has continued since then. After two decades of independence, it seemed that the cost ofproduction was excessive due to the absorption of labour in the mines and introduction of large scale heavy mechanization. The picture worsened after the nationalisation of the mining sector in the 1970s when productivity of the labourers declined and import of minerals had to be increased. The poor performance of the public sector companies fuelled up the scope of privatisation in this sector from the 1990s onwards. The private players took a significant part in this sector since then. This study focuses on the present conditions of the mining and quarrying sector. Noting the major changes taking place over time, the study tries to explore the status of the labourers in terms of wages, migration, health and indebtedness on the one newlinehand and on the other, examine the feature of informality that had developed within the newlinemining sector that had remained formal in every way. Taking into account the dimension of the quarrying sector as well, the study gives a comparative overview of the mining and quarrying sector in eastern India and presents a comparative picture of the formal and informal sector mining. Lastly, the effects of mining activities on the livelihood in disrupting life and displacing people and on environment resulting in large scale degradation have also been examined. newline