Why it is in the news
Heritage activists led by the Kakatiya Heritage Trust (KHT) are demanding withdrawal of the proposed PVNR opencast coal mine at Venkatapur in Mulugu district, Telangana, arguing it could pose a long-term threat to the UNESCO-inscribed Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple and the adjoining Ramappa Lake. On 3 October 2026 a delegation met Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy in Hyderabad, saying Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) was gearing up to take up the project; activists plan to mobilise 15 villages for mass protests after Dasara (The Hindu, 5 October 2026).
The exam angle
Issue: Can India extract coal from a heritage landscape without eroding the Outstanding Universal Value it pledged to protect?