New Delhi, May 31 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday attacked the Modi government over the approval to a coal mining venture in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo-Arand forest, alleging that the BJP’s “trouble-engine regime” is determined to see the project through, whatever the cost to ‘Adivasi jal-jangal-zameen’ and the ecosystem.
The opposition party’s attack comes days after the proposal for coal mining in Chhattisgarh’s pristine Hasdeo-Arand forest that will require the cutting of lakhs trees has obtained a key approval from the Environment Ministry’s forest advisory committee (FAC).
The mining is planned to take place in the Surguja district’s Kente Extension Opencast Coal Block, which is being developed by the Adani group.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the Modi Government has given approval to coal mining by “Modani” in Chattisgarh’s Kente Extension Opencast Coal Block, 98% of which falls under Hasdeo Aranya’s pristine sal forests.
This will result in indiscriminate felling of at least 7 lakh trees, Ramesh said on X.
It will also be an existential threat to biological diversity, including leopards, sloth-bears, and the national heritage animal of India, elephants, Ramesh claimed.
He further said it would result in increased human-animal conflict since the coal block is just 3.6 km from the Lemru elephant corridor.
Ramesh argued that it will also have an adverse impact on water flows in Hasdeo river and Bango dam since the forests serve as their catchment area.
On January 26, 2022, the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government had passed a resolution in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly that no mining leases should be granted in Hasdeo Aranya, Ramesh recalled.
“The Modani trouble-engine regime which has since come to power is determined to see this project through, whatever the cost to Adivasi jal-jangal-zameen and the ecosystem,” Ramesh said.
Compensatory afforestation is just no substitute for the loss of such rich natural forests – in fact, it is nothing but a fraud that only assuages a guilty conscience, the Congress leader said.
The coal block was allocated to state-owned Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RVUNL) in 2015.
Environment activists have alleged that if implemented, the mining could lead to irreversible ecological, cultural, and social damage in the region.
Hasdeo-Arand is home to dense Sal forest, which has high ecological value and rich biodiversity. It also hosts nine Schedule-I species, including leopards, sloth bears, and elephants, and numerous flora and fauna species.
The coal block is just 3.6 km from the Lemru elephant corridor, and elephant movement has been reported in and around the proposed mining area, according to the minutes of the FAC meeting held on May 8.
The committee noted that the proposed mining could impact the movement of elephants in the region.
It also highlighted a biodiversity study conducted in Hasdeo-Arand by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), which revealed that the proposed mining is prone to soil erosion and gully erosion.
Environmentalists have claimed that the cutting of trees at such a large scale could impact hydrological stability in the region. PTI ASK SKY SKY
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