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368k trees to be ‘affected’ due to mining project in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo: Govt
Hasdeo Arand is one of the largest contiguous stretches of dense forests in central India spanning 170,000 hectares and has 22 coal blocks underneath it
Over 368,000 trees “will be affected” due to the Parsa East Kente Basan (PEKB) coal mining project in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Arand, one of India’s last remaining old-growth forests, minister of state for environment Kirti Vardhan Singh told Lok Sabha on Monday.
Hasdeo Arand is one of the largest contiguous stretches of dense forests in central India. It spans 170,000 hectares and has 22 coal blocks underneath it.
The minister provided the information on the tree felling there in a written response to Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation lawmaker Raja Ram Singh’s question. The lawmaker from Bihar asked whether the government was aware that over 200,000 trees had been felled for the Adani Enterprises project. He sought details of the felling and whether environmental clearance was granted despite local opposition, tribal rights claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and the ecological sensitivity of the region. The lawmaker asked for the reasons for permitting extensive deforestation in a biodiversity-rich forest despite the climate crisis.
The minister said permissions were granted twice for the project expansion. He cited the state government’s proposal for the forest land diversion and said 3,68,217 trees “will be affected”.
The minister said the diversion is allowed subject to conditions including the compensatory afforestation, payment of net present value, and other appropriate mitigation measures.
He added that the Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB) held a public hearing for the project in Parsa, Kente, Basan, Salhi, Hariharpur, Ghatbara, Parogiya villages in the Sarguja district in 2009.
The minister said the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), which gave the environmental clearance (EC), deliberated the issues raised at the public hearing. He added that the proposal was recommended for EC.
The minister said that CECB conducted another public hearing in September 2016 for the increase in coal mining and washery capacity from 10 MTPA to 15 MTPA. “The issues raised in the public hearing included mine discharge, arrangement of treatment of polluted water, transportation of coal, employment, culture and traditions, rehabilitation, etc.”
The minister said these issues have been deliberated, and the proposal was recommended for EC. Another clearance was granted on the EAC recommendations in February 2022 for an increase in coal production from 15 to 18 MTPA (20% expansion) as per a ministry of environment, forest and climate change office memorandum of September 2017.
“As part of this expansion project, the proponent has carried out a cumulative impact assessment for the coal mining and the coal washery. It includes the assessment of impact on air, water, soil, forest cover, and biodiversity,” said the minister. “EIA [Environmental Impact Assessment] also includes specific mitigation strategies like dust suppression and water management systems, noise control measures, and reforestation plans to counter the environmental impacts of mining activities.”
The minister said the government remains committed to ensuring that all mining activities, including in the Hasdeo region, are carried out in an environmentally sustainable manner. He added that mining is allowed keeping in view the provisions of Forest Conservation Act, 1980, Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and all other applicable laws, rules, and guidelines.
In January 2022, HT reported the environment ministry permitted further coal mining on 1,136 hectares in Hasdeo Arand despite protests. The ministry’s forest advisory committee on December 23 approved a proposal to extend mining in Rajasthan’s power distribution utility-owned PEKB block, as coal reserves in the first allotment of 762 hectares were exhausted earlier than estimated.
