India’s Energy Trilemma; A Critical Analysis of Coal Acquisition

Historically, coal has remained the major source of power generation in this country, and naturally so, since coal was considered a national asset. Of the 1362 MW of total installed capacity in 1947, 56% was produced through coal. The overall installed capacity of India as of September 30, 2022, according to the Government of India’s Ministry of Power, is 407,797 MW, with fossil fuels accounting for 57.9% of that total. Among them, 50% is generated from coal alone, which shows that the share of coal-based power generation has largely remained the same within a range of ±10% of the original share. Today, Over 80% of the domestic coal output comes from Coal India Limited, which procures coal through the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act of 1957. The paper studies the provisions of CBAA through the lens of the energy transition, encompassing the idea of ‘just transition.’ Further, it studies the philosophy of “Just Transition” in India by evaluating the judicial response of Constitutional Courts and the National Green Tribunal. Furthermore, a comparative study is done by evaluating the judgments of the US Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Chile, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and the Federal Court of Australia and equating them with the idea of climate justice and energy justice. Moreover, recommend a way forward for just transition.