Chhattisgarh: Locals, police clash as tree-felling begins for coal mine

Environmental activists working in Surajpur, however, alleged that at least 10 villagers were hurt when police used batons to disperse the crowd.

Violence broke out on Thursday morning between villagers and officials as deforestation began for the Parsa coal mine in Surajpur district, leaving eight police personnel and four local injured, authorities said.

Environmental activists working in Surajpur, however, alleged that at least 10 villagers were hurt when police used batons to disperse the crowd. (HT PHOTO)

Environmental activists working in Surajpur, however, alleged that at least 10 villagers were hurt when police used batons to disperse the crowd.

Surguja Superintendent of Police Yogesh Patel refuted claims of a baton charge. “Some villagers carrying dangerous weapons such as sticks, axes and slingshots attacked the police, resulting in injuries to eight officers,” Patel said.

He added that around 350 police officers were deployed to prevent villagers from interfering with tree-cutting activities.

The Parsa coal block has been allocated to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited under the central government’s coal mine developer-cum-operator scheme. Adani Enterprises won the contract to operate the mine through competitive bidding.

Adani Enterprise declined to comment on the incident when contacted.

Activists say the Parsa mining project will displace about 700 people and destroy roughly 840 hectares of dense forests. A 2009 forest department census estimated 95,000 trees would be felled.

Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, an organisation advocating for tribal rights in the region, said in a statement that the administration was taking “repressive actions against unarmed villagers” protesting the forced opening of the mine in Hasdeo forest.

The group alleged that forest and environmental clearances for the mine are based on forged documents and demands its immediate cancellation. They said the gram sabhas (village councils) of Hariharpur, Salhi and Fatehpur never consented to forest clearance.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi criticised the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on social media platform X, saying: “It has become the policy of the BJP to oppress the tribals across the country. The tribals who have been the owners of the forests for centuries are being evicted so that Adani ji’s mines can operate.”

She questioned whether the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides protections for tribal areas, had been “abolished in Chhattisgarh.”

Ajay Chandrakar, chief spokesperson for the BJP in Chhattisgarh, said: “I have only one thing to say, that what is happening there is very sad.”