Over 200k trees to be felled in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo, 960k in Great Nicobar: Govt

Approximately 273,757 trees to be cut in Hasdeo Arand forests, Chhattisgarh, with concerns over excessive tree felling and compensatory afforestation efforts.

Approximately 273,757 trees will be cut in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Arand forests in the coming years, the Union environment ministry told informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, while also defending plans to carry out large-scale development projects in the Great Nicobar Island, where it said close to a million trees will be felled in a separate disclosure.

Hasdeo Arand spans over 170,000 hectares and has 23 coal blocks. (Wikimedia Commons)

The disclosure relating to the Hasdeo Arand forests is significant since it is the largest contiguous stretch of very dense forests in central India, and also sits on massive coal reserves. Two coal mines have already been set up in these forests --- Chotia I and II and the Parsa East and Kete Basan (PEKB), and two more are proposed: Parsa and the Kente Extension.

Activists say that manifolds more trees than originally approved may have already been felled.

In a response to Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Kumar Pathak, the response signed by Union environment and forests minister Bhupender Yadav stated that 94,460 trees have already been felled as of 2023 for Parsa East Kete Basan.

Hasdeo Arand spans over 170,000 hectares and has 23 coal blocks.

Over the tree felling in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Arand, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav cited a study commissioned by the government of Chhattisgarh into all Hasdeo-Arand coalfields by the Indian Council of Forestry, Research and Education, Dehradun, which then collaborated with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

Yadav added the report was sent to the Union forest ministry on June 14, 2021. “In the said report, no complete ban on mining was recommended,” the answer, in response to a question by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and MP Sandeep Kumar Pathak.

The minister also provided details on compensatory afforestation efforts in the region. “As per the information received from the state government of Chhattisgarh, 94,460 trees have been felled in Parsa East Kete Basen Mine and 5,340,586 trees have been planted as compensatory afforestation, mine reclamation and translocation,” Yadav said. The Chhattisgarh government reported that approximately 4,093,395 newly planted trees have survived.

Experts expressed worry. “We are talking about very dense sal forests. Most trees here are over 200 years old. I think the number of trees felled are more than 94,460. This is because Wildlife Institute of India has already assessed that there are 400 trees per hectare in this region. If all three mines are in operation including Parsa and Kente Extension then Hasdeo Bango reservoir will be destroyed and biodiversity of the region will be lost forever. The impact will be irreversible,” said Alok Shukla, convener of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA) and 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize winner.

Regarding the planned development works at Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, which was in a separate parliamentary answer answered by junior environment minister Kirti Vardhan Singh, up to 964,000 trees will be felled. The government in the response assured the plans --- which includes buildings a township, a power plant and an airport --- would not affect the breeding grounds of leatherback turtles.

Singh explained, “The Central Government vide letter dated 27.10.2022 has accorded the In-principle/Stage-1 approval for diversion of 130.75 sq km forest land for sustainable development in Great Nicobar Island. Compensatory Afforestation is carried out in lieu of diverted forest land.”

He added, “Further, more than 50% i.e. 65.99 sq km of the area proposed for diversion is reserved for green development where no tree felling is envisaged. It is expected that about 15% of development area would continue to remain as green and open spaces and therefore the number of trees likely to be affected is going to be less than 9.64 lakhs [964,000].”

Singh emphasised that the project includes measures to mitigate environmental impact. “As per the conditions stipulated in the approvals accorded by the Central Government, adequate mitigation measures to compensate the impact of development on flora and fauna are part of the environment/forest clearance conditions,” he said.

The minister also addressed concerns about the project’s impact on wildlife, stating, “The breeding grounds of leatherback turtles are in no way getting altered due to the project. The large nesting areas (Western flank) have been retained as such for nesting of leatherbacks.”

Singh highlighted the importance of ongoing research and monitoring efforts, noting, “Research unit set up by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to undertake and monitor sea turtle related research in A&N islands is an important component of the special conditions of Environmental Clearance.”

A second expert said the information is a reminder to review the adequacy of regulatory procedures to gauge how social, environmental and ecological processes are changed by such projects, as well as their climate change implication. “Both impact assessment and compensatory afforestation procedures can benefit from precautionary and intersectional approach rather than post approval techno-management, especially given the irreversible risks involved to projects, people and places,” said Kanchi Kohli, independent legal and policy expert.