Rehabilitation promises return every election in Raniganj coal belt

As elections approach, promises of rehabilitation take centre stage in India’s second largest and oldest coal mining region in Raniganj in Paschim Bardhaman district of West Bengal. But cracks in homes, unstable ground underneath, and failed rehabilitation promises have haunted residents of the area through many elections.

Harishpur is among the worst-affected areas due to land subsidence in Raniganj. In 2020, residents suffered a massive jolt which cracked open many homes, reduced some to dust, and left several families homeless. Homes were engulfed by the very land they once lived on.