Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

Adani gets nod for mining in forests once considered to be a ‘no-go’ zone

FAC asks Chhattisga­rh government to reconfirm the presence or absence of dense forest in the northeaste­rn part of the land

- Jayashree Nandi Jayashree.nandi@htlive.com ▪

NEW DELHI: The Forest Advisory Committee of the Union environmen­t ministry has granted stage-1 preliminar­y forest clearance to the Parsa open-cast coal mine, to be operated by a unit of billionair­e Gautam Adani’s Adani Enterprise­s Limited, in the forested Surguja and Surajpur districts of Chhattisga­rh.

The mine falls in one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest in central India called Hasdeo Arand that spans 170,000 ha (hectares). Of this, 841.538 ha of biodiversi­ty-rich forest land, about the size of 800 football fields, has been cleared for mining.

In 2009, the environmen­t ministry categorise­d Hasdeo Arand a so-called “no-go” area for mining for of its rich forest cover.

The mine is owned by Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited, which has handed over the mining operations to Rajasthan Collieries Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprise­s.

Siddhanta Das, director general of forests, confirmed that the project has been granted stage-1 approval, in which a proposal is agreed to in principle. “During our analysis, we found that a small part of the area may be very dense forest, so we have asked the state government to check. Chhattisga­rh has been pursuing the project for a long time now. We don’t want any dense forest to be opened up so we have made this suggestion,” Das added.

NEW DELHI: The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union environmen­t ministry has granted stage-1 preliminar­y forest clearance to the Parsa opencast coal mine, to be operated by a unit of billionair­e Gautam Adani’s Adani Enterprise­s Limited, in the forested Surguja and Surajpur districts of Chhattisga­rh.

The mine falls in one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest in central India called Hasdeo Arand that spans 170,000 ha (hectares). Of this, 841.538 ha of biodiversi­ty-rich forest land, about the size of 800 football fields, has been cleared for mining.

A spokespers­on for Adani Enterprise­s declined to comment. The mine is owned by Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL), which has handed over the mining operations to Rajasthan Collieries Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprise­s.

In 2009, the environmen­t ministry categorise­d Hasdeo Arand a so-called “no-go” area for mining because of its rich forest cover. The environmen­t ministry undertook a study in nine major coalfields and the coal blocks located in these coalfields were classified as “go” and “no-go” areas, based on whether they had unfragment­ed forests. Hasdeo Arand has 30 coal blocks.

Soon after, in 2011, coal blocks even in no-go areas were opened up because the go, no-go policy never got off the ground. There are two operationa­l mines presently on the fringes of Hasdeo.

Minutes of an FAC meeting held on January 15, 2019 state: “FAC has decided to recommend for grant of in-principle approval, with… a specific condition: the state government (Chhattisga­rh) shall reconfirm the presence or absence of very dense forest in the northeaste­rn part of the proposed forest land under diversion and scope of excluding the same from the proposal.”

Siddhanta Das, director general of forests, confirmed that the project has been granted stage-1 approval, in which a proposal is agreed to in principle. “During our analysis, we found that a small part of the area may be very dense forest, so we have asked the state government to check. Chhattisga­rh has been pursuing the project for a long time now. We don’t want any dense forest to be opened up so we have made this suggestion,” Das added.

Alok Shukla, convener of the Chhattisga­rh Bachao Andolan, claimed that the entire area that is proposed to be opened up to mining is pristine forest area. “Not only is it dense forest, Hasdeo Arand is an important elephant corridor and has a huge hydrologic­al impact on the region. Tribals here are completely dependent on forest produce. The process of settling forest rights among the tribal population living here has not been completed. It seems like the government is in a hurry to clear the mine before the general election,” said Shukla.

The minutes of the FAC’s meeting state that additional chief secretary (forest), Chhattisga­rh was keen to conduct another site inspection with a larger committee and over a longer duration. The FAC, however, decided that “no additional informatio­n is expected to be obtained by one more site inspection”. The mine can be operationa­l once the company has received environmen­tal clearance and a final go-ahead from Chhattisga­rh government.

SS Meena, director of Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited, said “We can

IN 2009, ENVIRONMEN­T MINISTRY CATEGORISE­D HASDEO ARAND A SOCALLED ‘NO-GO’ AREA FOR MINING BECAUSE OF ITS RICH FOREST COVER

start mining operations after receiving the stage-2 forest clearance. The mining contract has been given to Rajasthan Collieries Limited (RCL) and not Adani.”

RCL, however, is listed as a subsidiary of Adani Green Energy Limited on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

“Hasdeo is one of the few remaining unfragment­ed forests in India, which is currently pursued not just for Parsa but several other adjoining coal mines. This latest in-principle approval has been granted without the completion of several legal requiremen­ts,” said Kanchi Kohli, legal researcher at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR).

“There were several ecological studies and biodiversi­ty assessment of the Hasdeo Arand region as required by the NGT (National Green Tribunal) judgment in 2014 that are still pending. The site inspection report for Parsa has recommende­d the forest diversion not by taking a view of the impacts of mining, but on the grounds that there is ‘no alternativ­e to coal,’” Kohli added.

 ?? GETTY ?? The mine falls in one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest called Hasdeo Arand that spans 170,000 hectares.
GETTY The mine falls in one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest called Hasdeo Arand that spans 170,000 hectares.

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