Jharia in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district lies on the Chota Nagpur Plateau, the ‘mineral heartland of India’. It is rich in various minerals, including coal.The town may have powered Indian industry and railways. But since 1916, its coal fields have been alight, burning and scarring the landscape as well as the lives of locals.Jharia used to be thick, dense forest hundreds of years ago. Like most of Jharkhand, it was the homeland of Adivasi groups including the Santhal, Munda, Oraon, Ho and others. The colonial period saw several non-tribals settle in the region. As Jharia continues to burn a hundred years on, its poor hardly have any means of survival other than what is readily available: Coal.An entire ‘illegal coal’ industry has developed in the region, with illegal pickers collecting previously burned ‘hard coal’ from the mines, only to sell it in the market or use it personally.‘Hard coal’ is a common term for anthracite, the highest rank of coal, known for its high carbon content, high energy density, and low impurities. It’s hard, brittle, and black lustrous coal, often used as a domestic fuel..While such small-scale pilferage does not impact coal or energy production, the problem of coal theft does raise concerns.In financial year 2020-2021, Coal India Limited, the world’s largest coal-mining firm, recovered Rs 126 million worth of stolen coal in raids it conducted jointly with the authorities.