Asset specification
Jharia Coalfield — key facts
BCCL Annual Report 2023 · CMPDI Jharia Master Plan · GSI India
GPS coordinates
23.76°N
86.42°E
86.42°E
Total reserves
~19.4 GT (GSI)
Coal type
Prime coking
India's only source
India's only source
Production
~30–35 MT /yr (BCCL)
Fire area
~9 km² (68 active fires)
Fires burning since
1916 (108+ years)
Coal consumed by fire
~0.5–1 MT /yr (lost)
Population above fires
~250,000–400,000
Operator
BCCL / Coal
India Limited
India Limited
District
Dhanbad
Jharkhand
Jharkhand
The underground fires
108 years of underground fire — why they cannot be put out
How the fires started and why they persist:
The Jharia fires began in 1916 when surface workings left exposed coal seams that ignited from an unknown source — possibly spontaneous combustion (coal oxidises at surface) or a deliberate or accidental fire. Once coal seam fires enter underground workings, they are among the hardest fires to extinguish: (1) Coal seams can extend for kilometres underground — providing virtually unlimited fuel. (2) Oxygen enters through cracks in the surface, fractures in the coal, and old mine workings — the fire's own heat creates convection currents that draw in more air. (3) Underground temperatures of 400°C+ create thermal stresses that fracture overlying rock — opening new pathways for oxygen ingress. (4) Water injection is ineffective and dangerous — flash steam explosions can occur; water can spread the fire by creating new oxygen pathways. (5) The only reliable method is "in-situ combustion control" — removing the burning coal mass — but mining at scale in 400°C zones with poisonous gases is extremely dangerous. BCCL has been fighting the fires since the 1940s using surface trenching, grouting, and localised flooding — spending approximately ₹500+ crore over decades. The fires are still burning. Source: CMPDI Technical Reports · IIT ISM Dhanbad coal fire surveys.
The Jharia fires began in 1916 when surface workings left exposed coal seams that ignited from an unknown source — possibly spontaneous combustion (coal oxidises at surface) or a deliberate or accidental fire. Once coal seam fires enter underground workings, they are among the hardest fires to extinguish: (1) Coal seams can extend for kilometres underground — providing virtually unlimited fuel. (2) Oxygen enters through cracks in the surface, fractures in the coal, and old mine workings — the fire's own heat creates convection currents that draw in more air. (3) Underground temperatures of 400°C+ create thermal stresses that fracture overlying rock — opening new pathways for oxygen ingress. (4) Water injection is ineffective and dangerous — flash steam explosions can occur; water can spread the fire by creating new oxygen pathways. (5) The only reliable method is "in-situ combustion control" — removing the burning coal mass — but mining at scale in 400°C zones with poisonous gases is extremely dangerous. BCCL has been fighting the fires since the 1940s using surface trenching, grouting, and localised flooding — spending approximately ₹500+ crore over decades. The fires are still burning. Source: CMPDI Technical Reports · IIT ISM Dhanbad coal fire surveys.
Human cost — 250,000 people above the fires:
The towns of Jharia, Kusunda, Bastacola, and parts of Dhanbad city sit above active fire zones. Residents experience: cracked walls and subsiding foundations (ground above fire zones can sink 1–2 metres), sudden sinkholes opening without warning, temperatures measurably higher in affected areas, hazardous gases (carbon monoxide causes chronic health damage at sub-lethal levels; sulphur dioxide causes respiratory disease; benzene is carcinogenic). The Government of India has known about this since at least the 1970s. The Jharia Master Plan (2007, BCCL/CMPDI) identified approximately 90,000 families requiring relocation to Belgarhia colony (23.80°N 86.40°E, approximately 20 km from Jharia). As of 2024, approximately 20,000–25,000 families have been relocated — well below the target. Reasons for slow relocation: (1) Resistance from residents unwilling to leave homes their families have occupied for generations; (2) Inadequate housing at Belgarhia (poor construction quality, lack of infrastructure); (3) BCCL's financial weakness limits relocation budget; (4) Political sensitivity — votes and livelihoods tied to Jharia's coal economy. Source: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Jharia report 2021 · Jharkhand High Court monitoring orders.
The towns of Jharia, Kusunda, Bastacola, and parts of Dhanbad city sit above active fire zones. Residents experience: cracked walls and subsiding foundations (ground above fire zones can sink 1–2 metres), sudden sinkholes opening without warning, temperatures measurably higher in affected areas, hazardous gases (carbon monoxide causes chronic health damage at sub-lethal levels; sulphur dioxide causes respiratory disease; benzene is carcinogenic). The Government of India has known about this since at least the 1970s. The Jharia Master Plan (2007, BCCL/CMPDI) identified approximately 90,000 families requiring relocation to Belgarhia colony (23.80°N 86.40°E, approximately 20 km from Jharia). As of 2024, approximately 20,000–25,000 families have been relocated — well below the target. Reasons for slow relocation: (1) Resistance from residents unwilling to leave homes their families have occupied for generations; (2) Inadequate housing at Belgarhia (poor construction quality, lack of infrastructure); (3) BCCL's financial weakness limits relocation budget; (4) Political sensitivity — votes and livelihoods tied to Jharia's coal economy. Source: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Jharia report 2021 · Jharkhand High Court monitoring orders.
Why Jharia's coal is irreplaceable
India's only coking coal — and the steel industry dependency
India produces approximately 125 million tonnes of crude steel per year (2023, WSA) — making it the world's second-largest steel producer. All conventional steel (via blast furnace route) requires coking coal — coal that, when heated without oxygen (carbonised), produces coke: a porous, high-carbon material used as both fuel and reducing agent in blast furnaces. Jharia contains India's only significant reserve of prime coking coal (low-volatile A bituminous, coking properties measured by Crucible Swell Number ≥5, crucial for coke strength). Without Jharia, India would have no domestic coking coal source — it would import 100% of its coking coal from Australia (Bowen Basin, 22.50°S 148.00°E), the USA (Appalachian fields), and Canada. India already imports approximately 55 million tonnes of coking coal per year (the imports supplement Jharia output, not replace it — India's blast furnace coke blend uses both domestic and imported coal). If Jharia's fires consume or make inaccessible its remaining coking coal reserves, India's steel industry faces permanent 100% import dependency — a significant strategic vulnerability. The alternative technology — Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) using natural gas or green hydrogen in Electric Arc Furnaces — does not require coking coal. India's JSW Steel, Tata Steel, SAIL, and RINL operate both blast furnace (Jharia-dependent) and electric arc furnace (not coking coal dependent) routes. The long-term transition away from blast furnaces would eliminate India's coking coal dependency — but the timeline is 20–30 years. Source: Coal India AR 2023 · GSI India coal statistics · World Steel Association (WSA) 2023 · CMPDI Jharia Master Plan.
Questions
Questions about Jharia
Could new technology finally extinguish the Jharia fires?
Several technological approaches have been proposed and partially tested, but none has demonstrated the ability to extinguish fires at Jharia's scale: (1) Liquid nitrogen injection: High-pressure liquid nitrogen (−196°C) displaces oxygen and cools the seam. IIT ISM Dhanbad and BCCL have conducted trials — effective in contained, accessible zones but impractical over 9 km² at depth. (2) Fly ash or cement grout injection: Pumping non-combustible material into cracks to block oxygen pathways. Used at some fire perimeters but does not reach deep fires. (3) Controlled isolation and flooding: Completely sealing a zone and flooding it with water to extinguish and prevent re-ignition. Requires permanent abandonment of that zone and all its coal. Structurally weakens overlying ground. (4) Comprehensive trench and removal: Excavating all burning coal from the surface — effective but extremely disruptive, requires evacuation of surface settlements. Jharia's surface is densely populated — this approach would require displacing the remaining 200,000+ residents who have resisted relocation for decades. (5) Underground robotic systems: In principle, autonomous drilling and excavation robots could mine in conditions too hot and toxic for humans — but no commercial system exists at the scale needed. The realistic assessment: the fires will burn until all accessible coking coal in the fire zones is consumed — a process that could take another 50–100 years. The highest-priority action is completing human relocation from fire zones, not extinguishing the fires. Source: IIT ISM Dhanbad coal fire research · BCCL fire fighting reports · GSI coal fire survey.
Provenance
Attribution and citation
- Sources
- BCCL Annual Report 2023 · CMPDI Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Plan (JRDP) · GSI Geological Survey of India · Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Jharia 2021 · Jharkhand High Court monitoring orders · IIT ISM Dhanbad coal fire research
- Cite as
- "Jharia Coalfield — Underground Fires Burning Since 1916", The Energy Codex, https://thecodex.expert/energy/mines/jharia/, last updated .