NGT quashes environmental clearance of Tamnar coal mine project in Chhattisgarh

Adani Enterprises Limited is the developer and operator of the proposed coal mine project of the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited in Tamnar

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has quashed the Environment Clearance (EC) granted to Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (Mahagenco) for the Gare Palma Sector-II Coal Mine Project in Tamnar block of Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district.

The NGT termed the public hearingMahagenc conducted in September 2019 to be not in accordance with the law. (File)

The proposed mine is spread over an area of 2583.48 hectares across 14 villages in Tamnar. Adani Enterprises Limited is the Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) of the project.

The petition was filed with the NGT by four people in August 2022 and final hearing was on August 3, 2023.

The NGT in its final order dated January 15, 2024, termed the public hearing conducted in September 2019 to be “not in accordance with the law” and said that the Environmental Clearance dated July 11, 2022, granted to Mahagenco of which Adani company is the mine operator and developer is quashed.

The Gare Palma Sector-II project faced massive opposition from the people of the region since it was first proposed in 2015. In September 2019, a public hearing was conducted amidst protests which led to clashes and FIRs being registered against several people from the affected villages.

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)’s Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) granted an EC to the project on July 11, 2022.

Affected locals Premshila Rathia (from village Bandhapali), Narad, Kanahi Patel (from village Kosampali) and Rinchin challenged this decision and filed an appeal against the EC before the NGT in October 2022.

“…In the present case, public hearing has not been conducted in accordance with law, satisfying the words and spirit of the requirement of public… Consultation and proceedings are such so as to deprive the affected people… Fair, impartial, unbiased and valid public hearing/public consultation…” the order said.

The order also noted, “The land was acquired in 14 villages out of which representatives of only villages Paata, Chitwai, Dolnara and Dolesara are shown to have participated in public consultation and that too, more than 63.79% are from village where the public hearing was held i.e., Dolesara. Report also shows that large number of people were standing outside the gate of the premises and one Raju Patnayak of village Dolesara demanded that they should be allowed to enter the premises but we do not find anything from record that why the people standing outside the premises were not allowed to enter and participate in the proceedings…”

“It appears that only those who were supporting the project were allowed to participate and their statements were made part of the proceedings…” the order further noted.

“This is evident from the fact that out of 14 villages, people only from 4 or 5 villages could participate in public hearing,” the order said.

Another reason for the cancellation of the Environment Clearance is the non-consideration of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) report on the health assessment of the native residents. The ICMR undertook a study on health assessment and projection of health hazards of people living in Tamnar Block.

“Though, in the objections filed by the complainant, it is said that ICMR report does not relate to the project in question or make any general specific observation(s) on the proposed project, but it could not be disputed that the mining area allotted to proponent cover 14 villages that comes within tehsil Tamnar..” the order noted.

As for the hydrological study of the region, the court observed that Kelo river is a major tributary of River Mahanadi and the proper study on the impact of the river should be conducted.

“The Kelo river runs through dense forests and irrigates agricultural lands of Raigarh and nearby areas… It flows from Chhattisgarh and Orissa and ultimately ends in the Bay of Bengal…Proper study on the hydrology aspect including River Kelo has not been undertaken by competent authority while granting EC…,” the order stated.

The court also noted, “...carrying capacity study by authority which was required to undertake the same, has not been conducted and this aspect has not been taken care by the competent authority in granting prior EC…”

An Adani spokesperson said that Mahagenco will respond to the NGT order as it was the project proponent. Mahagenco executive director (ED) Nitin Wagh did not respond to phone calls.

Reacting to the NGT order, Degree Prasad Chauhan, a land rights activist working in Raigar, said that this is a historic victory for the people of Tamnar.

“This is a victory for the people of Tamnar and Gharghoda blocks, who have waged a long-running struggle to protect their livelihoods and environmental rights from existing coal mining and industrial activity,” said Chauhan.

Rinchin, one of the complainant who appeared for hearing in the case, said the NGT in its judgement found a number of legal violations in the granting of the EC.

“No proper public consultation was done, due to which objections and legitimate concerns of the affected people were ignored and they were deprived of a ‘fair, impartial, unbiased and valid public hearing/public consultation’. The judgements also pointed that there was a lack of adequate attention and consideration of serious public health concerns, including those raised in an existing ICMR report for the area. The order also mentioned that there was a lack of a proper hydrological study to assess the project’s impacts,” said Rinchin.