Despite the continuous growth in renewable sources of energy, coal remains the primary source of energy security in developing countries and accounted for 1.1 Gt of CO 2 annually. The present study was conducted to examine the dynamic land cover changes, deforestation, and carbon (C) emissions in the mined landscape of Central India. Geospatial techniques coupled with field measurements were conjunctively employed for quantifying land use and vegetation changes from the period of 2001 to 2020. The unchecked mining (6.4-30 km 2 ) along with the rapid expansion of agriculture (586.7-642.5 km 2 ) were identified as major drivers of deforestation, which resulted in the net loss of 115.3 km 2 area under intact sal (Shorea robusta) dominated forest. The mining and associated activities increased the fragmentation of intact forest that had not only decreased density, basal area, and diversity of vegetation but also a huge loss of biomass of $2.5 Tg that contributed to a net loss of 1.08 Tg C ($3.98 Tg of CO 2 ) in the past 20 years. The study explored the use of land management options and confirmed that C offset ensued from land use changes without hampering coal production for the next two decades. The scenarios will provide valuable information to the policymakers for devising sustainable coal mining by underpinning the ecological compensation for deforestation while promoting cleaner production technologies through decarbonization to counteract emissions, which could help in achieving ambitious goals set by India for planned C reduction targets as Intended Nationally Determined Commitments under the Paris Agreement (2015).

Coal is the major source of energy in India, where 66% of the thermal power is generated from different grades of coal. The surging energy demand for domestic and industrial sectors has accelerated coal production through intensive coal mining from existing mines and there is exploration for potential areas across the Country. More than 80% of the coal excavated from open cast mining, which is a damaging form of mining that is often associated with undesirable land use changes, soil degradation, and deforestation and is responsible for other environmental degradation. The present study has been conducted in Manendragarh coal mining area located in northern Chhattisgarh, Central India using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and geospatial tools. LANDSAT-TM and OLI satellite data from 1990 and 2020 were digitally analyzed applying a maximum likelihood supervised classification technique in ERDAS IMAGINE and Arc-GIS platforms. Spatial analysis of satellite data revealed that the area under forest, agriculture-fallow, and waterbodies fell by 14.5%, 12.9%, and 2.52%, respectively, due mainly to conversion into degraded land, while the mining area and built-up areas were proportionally enhanced by 3.2% and 0.59% between 1990 and 2020. The intense mining resulted in deterioration of soil health, where the organic C, pH, and soil depth were considerably decreased in mined sites and degraded lands, compared to agricultural and forest areas. The major determinant biophysical, topographic, and soil factors were integrated in a GIS platform to derive a land degradation vulnerability index (LDVI), which identified five vulnerability classes. The salient findings of study provides the critical inputs for the policy makers/environmentalists in prioritization and decision-making for implementing remedial measures for the eco-restoration of mining degraded landscapes and also the improvement of ecology and environment along with sustainable coal mining.