Determinants of households’ resistance against land acquisition for mining: Experiences at Talcher coalfields in India

Abstract

In the context of people's protests against land acquisition for mining in the Indian state of Odisha, the present paper attempts to identify the underlying household level factors. The paper uses primary data collected from the Talcher coalfield region of the state and estimates limited dependent variable models. It is found that the households belonging to the scheduled tribe category or having larger per capita income or with greater access to basic amenities are more inclined to give up their land for mining. However, such inclination is lower when they have more land or better education or are concerned about deforestation and pollution. As regards the amount, the paper finds that households with higher per capita income or larger per capita asset base or greater access to basic amenities desire to give up more land. On the other hand, willingness to give up land is less either when households possess more land holding or when there is a larger male workforce in the family.