New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) The government on Wednesday approved the Rs 5,940-crore revised master plan to deal with Jharia coalfield fire in Jharkhand and rehabilitation of affected families.

The decision on the same was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs... has approved the Revised Jharia Master Plan (JMP) for addressing issues related to fire, land subsidence, and the rehabilitation of affected families in the Jharia Coalfield," an official statement said.

The total financial outlay for the implementation of the revised plan is Rs 5,940.47 crore, it said.

The phase-wise approach will ensure that handling of fire and subsidence and rehabilitation of the affected families will be done on priority basis from the most vulnerable sites.

The revised plan stresses on sustainable livelihood generation for families being resettled under the plan. Targeted skill development programmes will be undertaken and income-generating opportunities will be created for the economic self-reliance of the rehabilitated families.

Moreover, a livelihood grant of Rs 1 lakh and access to credit support of up to Rs 3 lakh through an institutional credit pipeline will be extended to both legal title holder families and non-legal title holder families.

In addition, comprehensive infrastructure and essential amenities -- such as roads, electricity, water supply, sewerage, schools, hospitals, skill development centres, community halls, and other common facilities -- are to be developed at the resettlement sites.

"These provisions will be implemented as per the recommendations of the Committee for Implementation of the Revised Jharia Master Plan, ensuring a holistic and humane rehabilitation approach," it said.

As part of the livelihood support measures, a dedicated Jharia Alternative Livelihoods Rehabilitation Fund will be set up for promoting livelihood-related activities. Skill development initiatives will also be carried out in collaboration with multi skill development institutes operating in the region.

The Jharia Master Plan for dealing with fire, subsidence and rehabilitation in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district was approved by the Centre in August 2009, with an implementation period of 10 years and a pre-implementation period of two years with an estimated investment of Rs 7,112.11 crore.

The plan expired in 2021.

Coal mines in Jharia Coalfield date back to 1916, when the first incident of fire was reported. Since then, a number of fires have occurred within the overburden debris.

Prior to nationalisation, these mines were privately owned and operated with a profit-driven approach and mining methods were unscientific with least concern for safety, conservation and the environment. This practice has resulted in severe land degradation, subsidence, coal mine fires and other socio-environmental problems.

After nationalisation, a Polish team and Indian experts were appointed in 1978 for studying the Jharia coal fire predicament.

According to the investigation, 77 fires across 41 collieries of BCCL were identified. In 1996, the Centre set up a high-power committee under the chairmanship of the coal secretary to review the problems of fire and subsidence in Jharia coalfields. PTI SID DRR