Everything you need to know about the Hasdeo-Aranya Coal Project.

About Hasdeo-Aranya Forest:-

The Hasdeo forest, located in Chhattisgarh, is one of  Central India’s densest stretch of forests spanning 1,70,000 hectares. It consists of varying and diverse groups of flora and fauna while also being a home to India’s indigenous communities such as the Gond, Oraon and Kunwar amongst many others. This green patch is a major source of their livelihoods. However, what brought attention to the Hasdeo forest wasn’t its greenery, but the huge coalfield on which it sits, having an estimated coal reserve of 5 billion tonnes as per the Indian Minerals Yearbook 2019, published by Indian Bureau of Mines. 

The Controversy:-

A mine was proposed to be set up in the Parsa East and Kanta Basan (PEKB), one of the many coal blocks located in that forest. The entire area was first marked as a ‘No-Go’ zone in the year 2009 based on a joint study conducted by the Ministry of Coal and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. A no-go designation basically prohibits any mine set-up in that area. But, after many court orders and appeals, changed decisions and numerous ups and downs, the mine was approved. All hopes of the adivasis and environmentalists that were fighting so hard to protect the forested land were shattered. The mine was allocated for  operation to the Adani Group and owned by the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RRVUNL). A detailed outline of the events leading to the approval of the mine is provided in this article published by Adani Watch, a non-profit project established specifically to bring to light other exploitative activities carried out by The Adani Group.

To make the matter worse, an expansion of the PEKB mine from 15 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) to 21 MTPA  had recently been proposed. The meeting of Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for Environment Appraisal Of Coal Mining Projects held on 20^Th January, 2022 recommended the proposal for only 20% expansion from 15MTPA to 18MTPA which had already received a stage II clearance, despite reports submitted against it by eminent bodies like the Wildlife Institute of India.

Why It Won’t Stop At One Block:-

I – Rajasthan’s dependency:

The Rajasthan government has planned to set up solar power capacity of 30GW by 2024-25. Even though the state is installing solar capacity at a fast pace, it will still be a few years before it actually reaches that goal. As per a research report submitted by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis in the year 2020, the state had 9.8GW of coal-fired capacity, producing 56.5% of its total on-grid generation while renewable energy formed only 18% of the total on-grid generation. This means that it will still be dependent on coal from Hasdeo-Aranya and so the mining will have to continue. As the old coal blocks get exhausted, new forest land will have to be cleared to tap into the remaining reserve potential. 

II – Only part of the total approved mining area has yet been used:

The total land approved for mining under this project by the Ministry of Coal on 12^th August 2016, was 2,682.856 hectares (ha). All activities regarding set-up and expansion of mines have been and are going to take place within this area. What is going to stop them from using this entire region when it has already been approved? The demarked area also includes 1,871.118 ha of forested land. Refer table below –

Out of this, part of the forested land had already been cleared for the PEKB mine phase I. For the current expansion proposal, approximately 840 hectares of forested land has been given clearance for non-forestry use by a government order dated 21 October, 2021.  840 ha of densely-covered lush-green land will be cleared off every last bit of vegetation. To get you an idea of how big that is, it is roughly equivalent to 1,570 football fields. Yes, the damage is going to be massive. And with the commencement of coal mining, multiply that damage by 4x. Read this article to know more about the negative impacts of this industry.

Recent developments:-

Red Alert! The authorities have already begun cutting down trees. The local protesters had hugged the trees in retaliation and recreated the famous Chipko Movement the previous day so during the early hours of April 27, when the village was asleep, around 300 trees were felled. The villagers have now planned to keep a watch at night as well. The adivasis are fighting hard for their home so…..

What can you do to help?

• Go to SurvivalInternational’s site and send an email using the draft mail provided there to the mentioned email addresses. The mail is addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to reverse the clearance provided to Parsa block and reinstate the Hasdeo Forest as a ‘No-go’ area. You can also visit their Instagram page to find more such links.

• If you have any of the following skills, send a message to LetIndiaBreathe on Instagram letting them know in what way you can help.
  1. Writing (Including use of legal jargons) 
  2. Designing
  3. Video editing
  4. Journalism
• For latest updates follow SaveHasdeo and Alok Shukla on Twitter. 
• Share as much as you can to create awareness on this issue. 

Update:-

June 9th, 2022: Chhattisgarh Govt. said it has stopped all mining work related to the Hasdeo Aranya region. Sarguja collector Sanjeev Jha told the media that “all departmental or official processes” for the mines were put on hold indefinitely as per article published by Indian Express.

Sept 23, 2022 : Alok Shukla on twitter had retweeted this post by Alok Putul which stated that the proposed mines to be dug up in Hasdeo Aranya were cancelled. This was an oral statement made by Mr. Singh Deo and no written order has been passed yet. Still people are relieved to get some encouraging signs after year long protests. Read more in this article by TheHindu.