Beyond CSR: Mining regions need environmental health systems

India’s mining belts, from Dhanbad’s coalfields to Korba’s industrial clusters and Angul-Talcher’s coal complex, have long epitomised the country’s development trajectory: abundant energy, industrial growth and economic momentum. Yet behind this narrative lies a persistent environmental health challenge for communities living around mines and power plants. Development indicators may rise, but health indicators in these regions often lag, shaped by chronic exposure to polluted air, contaminated water and toxic metals.

India’s energy transition is beginning to shift this landscape. But the health consequences of extraction and combustion remain largely absent from policy discussions. Mining regions require not just corporate social responsibility (CSR) interventions but systematic environmental health protection embedded in public governance.

A shifting energy landscape

India’s energy mix is gradually changing. Renewable energy capacity, particularly solar and wind, has expanded rapidly in recent years.

Recent analyses suggest that coal-fired power generation in India declined by about 3 per cent in 2025 compared with the previous year, marking the first such decline in five years. Yet coal remains the backbone of India’s electricity system, accounting for around 70 per cent of electricity generation, according to data from the International Energy Agency.

Even under optimistic transition scenarios, coal will remain a significant component of India’s energy architecture for decades. This means the environmental and health implications of mining and combustion will continue to affect communities in coal-bearing regions.

The environmental health burden

Mining and coal-based power generation release pollutants, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic and lead. Coal extraction and blasting generate large volumes of dust, while coal transport and fly ash disposal add to environmental contamination.

The health consequences of these exposures are substantial. According to the Global Burden of Disease study, air pollution contributes to around 1.6-1.7 million deaths annually in India, making it one of the country’s leading health risks.

Heavy metal exposure compounds the problem. Coal and fly ash contain toxic elements, including lead, that can accumulate in soil, groundwater and food systems around mining and power plant sites.

Lead exposure is particularly concerning. The World Health Organization notes that “there is no safe level of exposure to lead” and estimates that lead exposure contributed to more than 1.5 million deaths globally in 2021. Children are especially vulnerable: the UNICEF-Pure Earth report The Toxic Truth estimates that around 800 million children worldwide have blood lead levels above 5 µg/dL, a threshold associated with measurable cognitive harm.Yet routine environmental health surveillance, such as biomonitoring for toxic exposures, remains limited in many mining districts.

Why CSR is not enough

In most mining regions, environmental and health interventions are delivered primarily through CSR programmes funded by mining companies.

These initiatives often support health camps, ambulances, drinking water systems or local infrastructure improvements. While valuable, they are rarely designed to address long-term environmental health risks. CSR programmes face several structural limitations.

First, they lack continuity, as projects often depend on corporate priorities rather than sustained public health objectives.

Second, they rarely measure exposure reduction or health outcomes, making it difficult to assess whether pollution-related risks are actually declining.

Third, they operate outside the public health system, meaning data generated through CSR initiatives rarely feeds into district health surveillance or environmental monitoring frameworks.

In effect, CSR tends to address symptoms rather than underlying environmental determinants of health.

Building environmental health systems

Protecting communities in mining districts requires a systemic environmental health framework integrated into existing governance structures.

Several steps are critical.

• Routine biomonitoring: District health systems should incorporate periodic testing for environmental exposures, such as blood lead levels in children and pregnant women in high-risk areas.
• Public environmental data: Air quality, water contamination and soil pollution data should be publicly accessible at district or block levels to enable transparency and accountability.
• Health-sensitive infrastructure: Schools and healthcare facilities in mining areas should include dust control measures, safe drinking water systems and green buffers as part of standard planning.
• Independent monitoring: Post-clearance monitoring of mines and thermal plants should involve independent institutions and incorporate health impact assessments, not just emission data.
• Environmental remediation: Governments must invest in soil restoration, groundwater protection and landscape rehabilitation in degraded mining areas.

Development must include health

India’s energy transition offers an opportunity to rethink governance in mining regions. Coal will remain part of the country’s energy system for decades, but communities living in these areas should not bear disproportionate environmental and health risks.

Development cannot be measured only in megawatts of electricity or tonnes of coal extracted. It must also be measured in the health and well-being of the communities that sustain the country’s energy economy.

Mining towns deserve more than CSR programmes. They need robust environmental health systems that prevent exposure, monitor risks and protect communities over the long term.

  The authors are public health professionals at Pahle India Foundation; views are personal