Heritage groups warn that SCCL opencast mine could endanger Ramappa Temple

Heritage advocates in Telangana are raising alarms over a deep opencast coal mining project proposed by the state-run Singareni Collieries Company Limited near the Ramappa Temple, a 13th-century structure recognized as the state’s sole UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple, situated in Palampet village of Mulug district, is only five kilometres from the planned mine at Venkatapur and is famed for its intricate dolerite carvings and a pioneering confined sand-box foundation that has withstood centuries of earthquakes.

Critics, led by Kakatiya Heritage Trust member M Panduranga Rao, warn that drilling to a depth of 300 metres and associated blasting could generate tremors that jeopardise the monument’s stability. SCCL’s unnamed senior official counters that studies involving IITs indicate vibrations will remain within safe thresholds, yet a 2025 impact report submitted to the Union coal ministry cites numerous faults and predicts cumulative damage from repeated vibrations. The Mulugu Collector, Borkhade Hemant Sahadevarao, has refused to grant mining clearance pending comprehensive scientific assessments and adherence to heritage protection norms.