Tensions rise over tree felling for Parsa Coal Block project

Ambikapur | Correspondent: Tensions among the villagers and police force escalated in the nearby areas of Hasdeo Aranya over Parsa coal block project. On the other hand, the State Scheduled Tribes Commission had issued a stay order to halt tree cutting operations at the Parsa coal mine

On Thursday morning, a large-scale of 96,000 tree felling began under the presence of heavy police force with hundreds of trees being cut down, despite of the protests from the villagers and Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti.

During the protest, Ramlal Kariyam, a key figure in the movement was injured during a clash with the police.

He was hit on the head while speaking to officials.

Ramlal has been leading the fight to protect forests, water, and land for over 10 years.

Commission Acts on Tree Cutting Dispute in Chhattisgarh

State Scheduled Tribes Commission has issued an order to maintain the status quo regarding this issue.

An application submitted by villagers from Salhi and surrounding areas, including Munshi Prasad Porte, Kavalsai Porte, Mangalsai, Hirasai, Phoolsai, Duleshwar Singh, Matiram, Ramsingh, Bhuneshwar, and 41 other residents from villages in Surguja and Surajpur districts.

The commission has registered the case under sections 9 and 10 of the Chhattisgarh State Scheduled Tribes Commission Act of 1995.

The villagers have raised concerns that resolutions passed in Gram Sabhas in Salhi and Hariharpur in January 2018 were not in compliance with legal standards.

10 years of legal and political battle

The Chhattisgarh movement alleged that the gram sabhas have never agreed to forest clearance.

They have always opposed mining in the gram sabha.

In the year 2018, officials has obtained forest clearance by pressurizing the sarpanch and secretary and preparing fake gram sabha proposal documents.

The dispute on the Parsa coal mine, where a fraudulent Gram Sabha was reportedly organized to secure permission for forest clearance.

This issue has been under legal and political contention for the past 10 years. Even the Governor had previously directed the Surguja District Commissioner to investigate the fake Gram Sabha, and the Chhattisgarh Assembly passed a resolution urging the Central Government to cancel the new coal mine.

Despite an investigation by the Chhattisgarh State Scheduled Tribes Commission and orders from the Governor of Chhattisgarh.

A case has been registered with the Commission, revealing that a fake proposal from the Gram Panchayat was used to obtain approval for the project.

The Commission has completed the proceedings yet due to absence of formal recommendation from the Secretary and Chairman the trees are under risk of being cut down in the Hasdeo region.

Hasdeo Mines

Three mines of Hasdeo Aranya region Parsa East Kete Basan (PEKB), Parsa, and Kete Extension has been allotted to the Rajasthan government.

The Rajasthan government has in turn leased these mines to the Adani group under a Mine Development Operator (MDO) agreement.

A significant portion of the coal extracted from these mines is used to fuel Adani’s power plants.

Currently tree felling has begun for mining in the Parsa coal mine, following earlier mining operations in two phases of Parsa East Kete Basan.

First phase of Parsa East Kete Basan (PEKB) mine was to be excavated by the year 2028, but it has already been dug and the coal has been finished off six years before.

Tribals had alleged that consents for the mines were done through fraudulent means.

In some cases, the signatures of deceased were even forged on the documents.