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Coal is one of the most abundant and important energy resources of the world. It plays crucial role in defining the economy of a nation. After mining, coal has to be processed to remove the impurities in the form of mineral matter. A large volume of impurities such as tailing and solid wastes are discarded during beneficiation of coal in coal beneficiation plants. The entire processes involved in coal preparation, starting from unloading of the raw coal to the loading of processed coal, would liberate particulate matters that would ultimately settle on the soil at varying distances, depending on the prevailing wind direction, particle size, and density. This is likely to affect the biology of the soil under such stresses. Soil samples collected from the contaminated and control sites were analyzed for pH, EC, soil organic carbon (SOC), mineralizable N, soil respiration, and soil enzymes like dehydrogenase, catalase, peroxidase and phenol oxidase. The biological parameters were found to be severely altered due to coal contamination. Based on principal component analysis, soil peroxidase was observed to be the most sensitive indicator that would be considered as biomarkers for coal contaminated soils. A high level Ni concentration was observed in contaminated soils than control. The prevalence of diseases like gastrointestinal disorder and asthma was more among the inhabitants of industrial site than control. Morbidity rate was higher in contaminated sites, besides the problems of general weakness, blurred vision, body pain, and cracked foot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]