If You Can’t Stop ’em, Tax ’em

Residents of the coal-rich Jamuria area in Bengal’s Burdwan district are one up on coal thieves.

Residents of the coal-rich Jamuria area in Bengal’s Burdwan district are one up on coal thieves. Tired of government inaction over their pleas to stop coal theft, the people started levying a ‘tax’ on every consignment of coal that’s illegally mined and transported from their area. People of at least 12 villages in the area have formed syndicates and set up check posts on roads leading away from their villages. The tax varies from Rs 50 for every bullock-cart load of coal to Rs 300 for every truckload. With an average of 100 bullock carts and 25 trucks passing through every village check post every day, the collections amount to a few lakh rupees every month. The money is distributed among the villagers, whose lifestyles, says a study by Burdwan University, have improved of late.

Burdwancoal thievestax