For verification of this paper, please visit on http://www.socialresearchfoundation.com/remarking.php#8

Meghalaya is famous for tourist spots and is known as the “Scotland of the East”. It is also known for one of the earliest English education centres of India. However, the coal mining and the pay structure of the people involved in the same are not known to the wider academicians. Hence this paper describes the history of coal mining with an in depth study of the pay structure of the miners. It is observed that the wage is high, however, the working condition is unsecured and completely unorganized.

The main objective of the paper is to study how the different categories of coalmine workers of Jaintia Hills were being paid for their hard work.

Thomas Oldham traces the first discovery of coal in the Khasi hills by James Stark and the discovery made in Cherrapunji and the adjoining areas. Besides writing on the formation and character of the mines, he narrates the lease held by the Government in perpetuity over the coal mines from the Raja of Cherra and its lease made over to Captain Lister and other individuals until the Government resumed it in 1859. He believed that the Cherra coal was of good quality but could not be worked because of the difficulty of transport.However, saw the scope that the mines would be operated in the future and would turn into a great and valuable account.[4]

Recently some studies have been conducted on the impact of coal mining in Meghalaya, but these mainly focus on water and vegetation.[5] P.M. Passah and S. Sarma’s (eds.) have focus on the impact of coal on the landscape, soil, vegetation and water bodies in the Jaintia Hills.[6] Zahid Hussain and S.K. Barik (eds.) had articles on coal reserved, extraction, production, utilisation and impact on the environment of North East.[7]  Mention may be made here of Henry Lamin’s who in his book Economy and Society in Meghalaya explores social change brought by coal mining.[8] Phervision Nongtdu and B.P. Sahu conducted a study on the profile of unorganised coal mine workers in Meghalaya. This study provides a brief study on performance and the grievances of the coalmine workers.[9] Except for Nongtdu and Sahu, most of these works do not deal with labour or their pay structure.

Meghalaya is a small and beautiful state in North East India, carved out from the undivided state of Assam on 21 January 1972, with Shillong as its capital. It has a total geographical area of 22,429 sq. km.[10] It is bounded in the south and west by Bangladesh and on the north and east by the state of Assam. As per provisional reports of Census India in 2011, Meghalaya's population is 29.66 lakh, with an average density of 150 persons per square kilometre.[11] When Meghalaya attained its statehood, Jowai Sub Division was upgraded as Civil District known as Jaintia Hills District. The district is situated in the easternmost part of the state of Meghalaya. Jaintia Hills has a total geographical area of 3819 sq. km.[12] It is between 25° and 45° north latitude and 92° - 45° east longitude.[13] It is bounded on the north and the east by the state of Assam, south by Bangladesh and west by East Khasi Hills District. The total population of Jaintia Hills District was 395,124 in 2011, of which 196,285 are male, and 198,839 are female.[14]   With the passage of time and for administrative convenience, three Civil Sub Division (viz. Khliehriat, Sub Division formerly known as Khliehriat Administrative Unit, Amlarem Sub Division formerly known as Jaintia Border Sub Division and later Saipung Division) have been created to effectively bring the administration and development nearer to the people.[15] With the bifurcation of the erstwhile Jaintia Hills District into two districts, East and West Jaintia Hills Districts, West Jaintia Hills Districts came into existence on 31 July 2012 with headquarters at Jowai. The district has one Civil Sub-Division (Amlarem Civil Sub-Division) and three Community and Rural Development Blocks - Amlarem, Thadlaskein and Laskein C & R.D. Blocks. The district is bounded on the West by the state of Assam, in the South by Bangladesh and East Jaintia Hills District, on the East by Assam and on the West by the East Khasi Hills District.[16] East Jaintia Hills was first set up as an Administrative Unit on 14 August 1976 to bring administration closer to the people at the grass root level. On May 1982, it was upgraded into a full-fledged Civil Sub-Division with the Sub-Divisional Officer as an administrative head. The Sub-Division was upgraded to a District on 31 July 2012, with Khliehriat as the headquarter. The district comprises of two Community and Rural Development Blocks viz. Khliehriat (now Bapung) and Saipung Community and Rural Development Blocks with the following boundaries, in the North West Jaintia, in the South Bangladesh and Assam, East Assam and West with West Jaintia Hills District.[17]

The newly created East Jaintia Hills District situated at the easternmost part of Meghalaya comprises a geographical area of 2126 sq.kms. Khliehriat is the headquarters of the district, at a distance of 100 km from the state capital Shillong. The National Highway 6 leading to Badarpur (Assam), Agartala (Tripura), Aizawl (Mizoram) and Imphal (Manipur) passes through the district. It has an inter-District border with West Jaintia Hills District, an inter-state border with Assam and an international border with Bangladesh. The district is inhabited by diverse castes, creeds, communities, tribes and ethnic groups with distinct cultures, religions and languages. Excluding the floating population, the district comprises 1, 22,436 persons (2011 census), spreading over 206 villages. The literacy rate of the district is 58.27%.[18]

Jaintia Hills is endowed with deposits of several valuable minerals like coal, limestone, kaolin, bauxite, rock phosphate and clay.[19] Of these, coal and limestone are the principal minerals which help build the fundamental strength of the regional economy and the state. For the past four decades, coal has been the only significant mineral mined in Jaintia Hills for commercial purposes. The coal deposit in the district is estimated at 40 million tonnes (i.e. 6.90 %) against the total state deposits of 576.48 million tons.[20] Though the district has fewer deposits of coal, it emerged as an important coal producer in the state. It contributed 1 66, 16,471 (63.42 %) metric tonnes of coal to the annual state production (2 80, 85,523 metric tons) in 2014-15.[21]

The existence of coal in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills appears to have been first brought to notice in 1815 when Mr. Stark reported that he had found some beds in the lower hills of Sylhet from which he forwarded specimens to the government. It does not appear that much further was done towards exploring these hills after this until Mr. Crafcroft, in 1832, brought to public notice the existence of coal beds close to the station of Cherrapunji. This discovery was followed up by finding other coal beds in various places in the adjoining district.[22]

Coal mining in Jaintia Hills was started in the second half of the 19th Century during the British period at Umlatdoh, Elaka Lakadong coalfields bordering Bangladesh. The Lakadong coal mines in the Jaintia Hills are the property of the Government as the ruler of the Jaintia Hills territory. These mines were first leased by the government for three years to Mr. W.B. Darley, in the year 1848, on the condition of his paying the sum of one rupee for every 100 maunds of coal worked by him. This lease was not transferable without the previous sanction of the government.

In March 1849, Mr. Darley made over his lease to Messrs; Gisborne and Co., who not long afterwards transferred it to Mr. W. Moran, but the government, in May 1851, declined to renew the lease in that gentleman's favour. Subsequently, however, the government was pleased, as a temporary arrangement, to grant permission to Mr. Moran to work these mines 'on the terms of the former lease terminable with three months' notice at any time at the discretion of the government'.

The quantity of coal extracted from the Lakadong mines made thereon from the beginning of 1850 to the end of 1856 was 1 39,508 maunds. The present lessee certainly has not worked these mines in a satisfactory manner, but the provisional nature of his tenure gave him no encouragement to make the outlay that is necessary to work them as they ought to be worked.[23]

Though Lakadong is within six miles of Borghat, a village on the affluent of the Surma, accessible all year round by boat, only coolie-carriage is available between Lakadong and Borghat. The path between the two is difficult, making carrying a large quantity of coal impossible.[24] Thus the expense of the transport of this coal from the mines at the top of the hills to the water carriage sometimes would not repay even the cost of transportation to the market.[25] The Lakadong coalmines have been worked by either one or two companies without success.[26]Owing to the non-availability of markets and the complexity of transportation, no further coal mining was taken until the 1970s.[27]

In the beginning, coal mining was done by the local people in groups consisting of their family members. Further large-scale exploitation of coal mining was carried out, and in due course, Jaintia Hills District became the largest coal producer in Meghalaya[28].

The major coalfields of Jaintia Hills District are Bapung, Lakadong, Sutnga, Rymbai, Chiehruphi, Lumshnong, Narwan, Byrwai, Sohkymphor, Myntriang, Jalyiah, Lumchyrmit, Lumskhen, Rangad, Iapmala, Musniang, Moollamanoh, Moolang, Mookhain, Semmasi, Umkyrpong, Lakasein, Mooriap, Jalaphet, Moolait, Lamyrsiang, Mynthning, Kyrluh, Sakhain, Umthei, Umlawang, Tluh, Moolamylliang, Latyrke, NongkhliehElaka, Khliehriat, Lad Rymbai, Byndihati, Moosianglamare in East Jaintia Hills District (Erstwhile Khliehriat Civil Sub-Division). Iooksi and Shangpung under Jowai Sadar, whereas Jarain and Skhentalang coalfields in Amlarem Civil Sub-Division in West Jaintia Hills District.[29]

The method of extraction of coal depends on the nature of the coal seams; if the coal seams are found on the hill-slopes as well as along the river banks, mining is done by side-cutting". Whereas if the coal seams are located in the plain lands (Flat areas), extractions were done by "box-cutting”. Based on this method, the sizes of the coal mines in the district are classified as small, medium, and large. Tunnels were made sideways at the lower seams of the coal face, and miners cut the coal seams horizontally. This traditional method of mining is commonly called “Rat hole", and it is widely practised in the district except for some selected areas where open-cast mining was practised. The thickness of the coal seam ranges between 1-3 feet, and it varies from one mine to another.[30]

 Mining is a labour-intensive industry with massive potential for employment generation; it can play a pivotal role in creating more avenues for job opportunities, particularly in the hinterland and backward areas, which have limited potential for other economic activities.[31]A coal miner isn't just simply someone who mines coal underground. There are a variety of jobs that come with it. What makes it a mining job is when the employee is working at a coal mine and whose job works towards getting coal out of the ground. There are a variety of jobs found in coal mining careers that involve underground and above-ground work. These works come before and after the extraction phase, like clearing the ground for mining, cutting coal, back carrier, loading, etc. But all of the roles work in conjunction with each other to support operations at the mines.[32] As there are different types of jobs required, the method of payment also differs according to the work done by the miners:

Once the mining site was selected and finalised, miners were employed to clear the land, break the soil and rocks and remove the debris until the coal seams were exposed. In this category, the method of payment for the miners is of two types:

i.  The first type is called Flat Rate, where an agreement is made that the miners will clear the ground at the rate of Rs. 9000 per foot.

ii.   The second one is called Layer System. Here a rate of Rs. 8000 per foot is paid for the first ten feet if it's only soil. Once a rock is reached, the amount to be paid is increased to Rs. 13,000 per foot.[33]

A mine owner employed a Manager (Site Manager) at the site to see that the work was moving on. The Manager at the mine site is to look after the work and mining activity. He is required to pay regular visits to the site and is responsible for providing equipment and machinery to the miners as needed. He has to keep records of coal production and pay the miners. Besides, another person is employed as a Manager to oversee the work at the depot, where the mined coal is accumulated for sale. The manager employed at the depot is responsible for selling the product. Usually, in these jobs, the miners are paid on a monthly basis at an average of Rs. 10,000 – 20,000 per month.[34] Besides this, he is given a daily allowance for food and fare. It seems that the payment they receive along with the daily allowance or remuneration is quite good, which enables them to live a good life.

To supervise the workers and the mine, another person is employed locally, called Sordar, who is usually an experienced person in the field of coal mining. He is responsible for bringing about the different categories of miners to work in the mine. He is to look after all activities and progress of the mine, including the physical condition of the mine. He submitted weekly reports on mining activities and the amount of work/coal done and produced by the workers for timely disbursement of payment. A person involved in this job is paid on a commission basis, i.e., about Rs. 300 per box (1.5 metric tons).An average earning per week from one mine is about Rs.1800-Rs.3000. A Sordar usually supervises more than one mine. Therefore, his total earning depends on the number of mines under his supervision.

Moreover, works in coal mining required workers who are physically strong and brave to work underground. The coal mining works have no guarantee for workers' lives. Based on their knowledge and skills about various types of work, Sordar allotted work to coal miners. Miners to cut coal from the coal face were employed and were paid Rs. 1500 to Rs. 2000 per box. An individual earns between Rs. 4500 - Rs. 6,000 per week.

To bring the mined coal from the tunnel to the mouth of the mine, a Cart Pullers is involved, and he is being paid an amount of Rs.1000 – 1250 per box. An individual earned around 3000—Rs.3750 a week in this job.[35]

The mined coal is then carried manually from the surface mine to the above ground on a cane basket by both men and women. They were paid Rs.200- Rs.400 per box, earning approximately Rs.600-Rs.1, 200 per week. In deep mines, elevators were used to bring the mined coal to the over ground.

The mined coal is transported from the mining site to the depot on a truck whose driver is paid Rs. 7000 per month, with a food allowance. To load and unload the transported coal, 2 to 4 men were engaged who were individually paid per trip Rs.1200 for 14 tons capacity truck and Rs. 3000 for 25 tons capacity truck. Even these were given a separate allowance for food.[36]

The accumulated coal at the depot was sold to buyers from Assam, a local Cement Plant or Bangladesh, who then avail help from some of the workers, i.e. slate pickers, comprised mostly of women to discard some unwanted stone called slate while loading into the truck. These were usually paid depending on the capacity of the truck. For a truck with a capacity of 25 tons,an individual is paid Rs. 250; with a capacity of 38 tons, they are paid Rs. 400; for 45 tons capacity, Rs. 500 and 53 tons capacity, Rs. 600. These workers usually earn around Rs. 500-Rs. 800-Rs. 1000-Rs. 1200 per day. These workers had no relation with the mine owner; they were independent and offered their service to the coal buyer.[37]

The paper is prepared based on the secondary sources available in the form of books, online articles, primary sources in the form of archival sources and fieldwork.

The growth and flourishing of coal mine owners in the district depend on the capability, ability and output these miners give. Hence their cooperation is very much needed to increase production and profit. Though the coal mining business is considered a high-profit business, these hard-working miners whose jobs have no guarantee for life were not given a share of the profit. They were being paid for their hard work. They worked hard to earn their livelihood and contributed much towards the economic wealth of the district in particular and the state exchequer. Their contribution is immeasurable. But they hardly enjoy any benefits which are there for the other workers working in the organised sector.

1. Chattopadhyaya, S.K, (1988), The Jaintias, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi 2. Dey, B.P, Ecological view of Jaintia Hills-Its Environment, Land and People (ACritical Assessment), in Dr.P.M. Passah & Sarma, S, (Eds) (2002), Jaintia Hills-A Meghalaya Tribe Its Environment Land and People, Reliance Publishing House, New Delhi 3. Hunter, W.W (1990), A Statistical Account of Assam, Vol-II, Low Price Publication, Delhi 4. Nongtdu, Dr. Phervision and Dr. B.P. Sahu (2013), Unorganised Coalmine workers in Meghalaya, Lakkshi Publishers & Distributors, Delhi 5. Revenue (Misc.) A. September-1931,Assam State Archive, Dispur 6. Report on the Lakadong and adjoining Coalfields by C.H. Ringwood in the Proceedings of the Finance Department (Industry and Science Branch)-B.2, 1876, West Bengal State Archives, Kolkata. 7. Government of Eastern Bengal and Assam, Revenue Miscellaneous (September 1931), No:1-23 8. Thomas Oldham (1984), Geology Meteorology and Ethnology of Meghalaya, Mittal Publication, Delhi 9. Report on the Administration of the Cossyah and Jynteah Hills, 1858 10. http://eastjaintiahills.gov.in/demographyaccessed 17th November Friday, 2017 11. https://megdmg.gov.in/minerals.htmlaccessed 17th November Friday, 2017 12.https://www.financialexpresscom.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.financialexpress.com/opinion/explained-how-mining-sector-can create-lakhs-of-jobs/ accessed on 28th November 2022 13. https://work.chron.com/types-jobs-coal-mining-20161.html, accessed on 29th November 2022 14. https://westjaintiahills.gov.in accessed on 10th April 2022 15. https://eastjaintiahills.gov.in/about--district accessed on 11th April 2023 16. https://meghalaya.gov.in/about accessed on 3rd September 2022 17. https://uidai.gov.in/images/state-wise-aadhaar--saturation.pdf accessed on 31st December 2020 18. https://meghalaya.gov.in/districts accessed on 1st May 2022. 19. https://jhadc.nic.in.about-us accessed on 5/4/22 20. https://megdmg.gov.in/aboutus.html accessed on 1 May 2022. 21. Sarma, Kiranmay, Impact of Coal Mining on Vegetation: A Case Study in Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya, India retrieved from https://www.iirs.gov.in/iirs/sites/default/files/studentThesis/kiran_thesis2004.pdf on 8 March 2020 22. https://meghalaya.gov.in/didtricts accessed 1 May 2022 23. Field Work conducted on 22 February 2020 24. Field Work conducted on 14 October 2022

1. https://meghalaya.gov.in/districts accessed on 1 May 2022.
2. Sarma, Kiranmay, Impact of Coal Mining on Vegetation: A Case Study in Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya, India retrieved from https://www.iirs.gov.in/iirs/sites/default/files/studentThesis/kiran_thesis2004.pdf. on 8 March 2020
3. https://megdmg.gov.in/aboutus.html accessed on 1 May 2022.
4. Thomas Oldham (1984), Geology Meteorology and Ethnology of Meghalaya, Mittal Publication, Delhi, pp. 31, 70.
5. Kiranmay Sarma and S.P.S, Kushwaha (2010), Impact of Coal Mining on Plant Diversity and Tree Population Structure in Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya, North East India, New York Science Journal, 6(9), 79-85
6. P.M. Passah and S. Sarma (eds.) (2002), Jaintia Hills: A Meghalaya Tribe- Its Environment, Reliance Publishing House, New Delhi, pp. 113-119, 121-128.
7. Zahid Hussain and S.K. Barik (eds.) (2004), Development and Environment: Development Geo- Energy Resources and its Impact on Environment and Man of North East, Regency Publications, New Delhi, pp. 3-16, 211-219, 220-228, 258-272, 273-289,290-297.
8. Henry Lamin (1995), Economy and Society in Meghalaya, HarAnand Publications, New Delhi
9. Phervision, Nongtdu and B.P. Sahu (2013), Unorganised Coalmines Workers in Meghalaya, Lakshi Publishers and Distributors, Delhi,
10. https://meghalaya.gov.in/about accessed on 3rd September 2022
11. https://uidai.gov.in/images/state-wise-aadhaar--saturation.pdf. Accessed on 31st December 2020
12. B. P. Dey, Ecological view of Jaintia Hills-Its Environment, Land and People (A Critical Assessment), in Dr.P.M.Passah & S. Sarma, (Eds) (2002), Jaintia Hills-A Meghalaya Tribe Its Environment Land and People, Reliance Publishing House, New Delhi, p.8 13. S. K. Chattopadhyaya (1988), The Jaintias, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi, p. 7
14. https://meghalaya.gov.in/districts accessed on 1 May 2022
15. https://jhadc.nic.in.about-us accessed on 5th April 2022
16. https://westjaintiahills.gov.in accessed on 10/4/22
17. https://eastjaintiahills.gov.in/about--district accessed on 11/4/2023
18. http://eastjaintiahills.gov.in/demographyaccessed 17th November Friday, 2017
19. https://meghalaya.gov.in/districts accessed on 1 May 2022.
20. Sarma, Kiranmay, Impact of Coal Mining on Vegetation: A Case Study in Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya, India retrieved from https://www.iirs.gov.in/iirs/sites/default/files/studentThesis/kiran_thesis2004.pdf. on 8 March 2020
21. https://megdmg.gov.in/aboutus.html accessed on 1 May 2022.
22. Revenue (Misc.) A. September-1931, Assam State Archive, Dispur, p.5
23. Report on the Administration of the Cossyah and Jynteah Hills, 1858, p.44
24. W.W. Hunter (1990), A Statistical Account of Assam, Vol-II, Low Price Publication, Delhi, pp.141-142
25. Proceedings of the Government of Eastern Bengal and Assam, Revenue Miscellaneous (September 1931), No:1-23, pp.7
26. Report on the Lakadong and adjoining Coalfields by C.H. Ringwood in the Proceedings of the Finance Department (Industry and Science Branch)-B.2, 1876, West Bengal State Archives, Kolkata.
27. Phervision Nongtdu and Dr. B.P. Sahu. Op cit, p. 48
28. https://megdmg.gov.in/minerals.html accessed on 17th November 2017
29. Phervision Nongtdu and Dr. B.P. Sahu (2013), Op cit, p. 8
30. Ibid, p. 12
31.https://www-financialexpress-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.financialexpress.com/opinion/explained-how-mining-sector-can create-lakhs-of-jobs/ accessed on 29th November 2022
32. https://work.chron.com/types-jobs-coal-mining-20161.html, accessed on 29th November 2022.
33. Fieldwork conducted on 14 October 2022
34. Field Work conducted on 22 February 2020
35. Fieldwork conducted on 22 February 2022
36. Fieldwork conducted on 14 October 2022
37. Field Work conducted on 22 February 2020