Understanding the drivers of informal economy of coal mining

This study employs a multi-theoretical framework that draws selectively on Political Economy, critical literatures on Neoliberalism, Commons, Social Capital, Network, and Modernization perspectives to investigate the dynamics of informal coal mining in India’s Asansol–Raniganj belt. While conventional accounts often treat informality as either a vestige of underdevelopment or a rational response to regulation, the persistence and expansion of informal coal mining in India reveal a structural reality shaped by overlapping socio-economic, political, and institutional forces. The research asks: (1) What are the principal socio-economic, political, and institutional drivers of informal coal mining in the Asansol–Raniganj belt? and (2) How do these drivers structurally interrelate to reproduce or expand informal practices? Using a mixed-methods approach: ethnography, semi-structured interviews, and Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM), the study shows that informal coal mining functions not as a marginal activity but as a structurally embedded system sustained through formal–informal linkages, governance vacuums, and community agency. The findings advance debates on informality by highlighting its relational and multi-scalar character and by identifying leverage points for policy interventions that address structural constraints while attending to local livelihood needs.