New Delhi, Feb. 9 -- The February 5 explosion at an illegally operated rat-hole coal mine in Meghalaya, which claimed the lives of 27 workers and injured nine others, pushes us to ask one question: What livelihood options do the residents of Meghalaya have? All over India, conversations about the just transition from coal have been mindful of the complexity of the process. The conversations include how to involve the ecosystem -- from tea vendors who depend on the workers as buyers, transportation service providers, to elderly persons who might find it hard to make the change. This may not apply to Meghalaya, where rat-hole mining is not always formal and barely uses much equipment. The coal dug out is relatively little. Workers have to cra...