Chhattisgarh govt seeks cancellation of forest clearance for Parsa coal block | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Chhattisgarh govt seeks cancellation of forest clearance for Parsa coal block

ByRitesh Mishra and Sachin Saini
Nov 01, 2022 05:32 PM IST

The Chhattisgarh government has written to the Union environment ministry seeking cancellation of the forest clearance given to the Parsa coal block in Hasdeo Arand forest

The Chhattisgarh government has written to the Union environment ministry seeking cancellation of the forest approval given to Parsa coal block in Hasdeo Arand forest, citing “law and order” problem and overall benefit of the locals in the area.

The Chhattisgarh government has cited ‘law and order’ problem and overall benefit of the locals in the area. (HT File Photo)
The Chhattisgarh government has cited ‘law and order’ problem and overall benefit of the locals in the area. (HT File Photo)

The coal from Parsa is meant for the thermal power plants in Rajasthan, another Congress ruled state. The Parsa coal block has been allocated to the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL) while coal mine developer-cum-operator (MDO) operations have been awarded to the Adani Enterprises through competitive bidding.

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On Monday, the Chhattisgarh forest department wrote to the inspector general of forest, Union ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seeking cancellation of proposal and clearance of forest diversion (under section 2 of Forest Conservation Act, 1980) of 841.548 hectare of forest land for Parsa coal block.

“There is a law-and-order situation in Hasdeo area due to protest against mining, hence in the light of public protest, law and order and overall benefit of locals the government urges to cancel the forest diversion,” the letter said.

On April 6, 2022, the Chhattisgarh government gave final approval for non-forestry use of land and coal mining for Parsa Opencast Coal Mining project, which falls in Surajpur and Surguja districts of Chhattisgarh. On April 23, the deforestation for the project started and was later stopped after protest by tribals.

Activists had then claimed that around 700 people will be displaced and around 840 hectares of dense forest will be destroyed due to the Parsa mining project. As per the 2009 census of the forest department, around 95,000 trees were expected to be axed, which officials now estimate to be around two lakh.

“The step of the state government can at least be seen of taking cognizance of the long battle of tribal people in Hasdeo to save the rich biodiversity of pristine forest. We strongly feel the state could have done this earlier. In the present case, the state government has powers under Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act to approve or cancel the forest diversion,” said Alok Shukla, convener of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan and an activist leading the protests against mining in Chhattisgarh.

“The central and state governments should also clarify how it will compensate the tree felling done earlier in Parsa coal block area? The central government should reconsider the official cancellation of all the coal blocks in Hasdeo Arand subject to its ecological value and larger public interest,” Shukla said.

In early October, the Union Coal Ministry rejected the Chhattisgarh government’s proposal of cancelling the mines allotted to Rajasthan in Hasdeo Arand forests.

The Centre has allotted Rajasthan three coal blocks - Parsa East-Kanta Basan-II (PEKB); Parsa and Kente Extension.

Amid the protest, the Chhattisgarh government in July passed a resolution in the state assembly urging the central government to cancel all coal blocks in the Hasdeo Arand forest area.

A senior official of the energy department of Rajasthan said the number of rakes received by the Rajasthan Vidhyut Utpadan Nigam from Chhattisgarh has been down by 9 rakes per day. This shortfall is about 40% of the total coal received for power generation.

He said that because of the short supply of coal from Chhattisgarh, 50% coal of interrupted supply has been allocated by the Centre under a ‘Bridge Linkage’ arrangement and it has to be lifted from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, Odisha.

In March, Rajasthan chief minister, Ashok Gehlot met his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Bhaghel in Raipur to discuss pending approvals to Parsa coal mines.

The Rajasthan government received environment clearance for the mines in December 2021, but despite that the required clearances were not issued by the Chhattisgarh government because of the protests. The issue thereafter was discussed with the Congress leadership, and intervention of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was sought. The issue was also taken up with senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in February.

The Hasdeo Arand coalfield, spread over 1,878 square kilometre in Korba, Surguja and Surajpur districts in the northern part of the state, comprises 23 coal blocks. In 2009, the Union environment ministry categorised the region as a “no-go” zone for mining but later changed its tune as the policy was not “finalised”.

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