Political heat over Tara coal block auction
Tara coal auction triggers Congress-BJP clash
Ambikapur | Correspondent: The auction of the Tara coal block in Chhattisgarh's Hasdeo Arand region has triggered a fresh political and environmental controversy, with the Congress questioning the decision and the BJP and Union Coal Ministry defending the process.
The Union Ministry of Coal, in a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release dated September 11, 2026, said recent reports about the Tara coal block were misleading and failed to take into account developments after 2023.
According to the ministry, the Tara block was first offered for auction in 2023 but was later withdrawn after the Chhattisgarh government requested that coal blocks in the Hasdeo Arand area be kept out of the auction process.
The ministry said the situation changed in December 2025, when the state government informed the Centre, stating, "the coal block is outside the Lemru Elephant Corridor, and the coal block may be offered in the upcoming tranche of auction".
Accordingly which the coal block was put up for auction in the 15th round of commercial coal mining. The ministry further added that the coal block had gathered maximum interest from the market.
A total of 9 bids were received under the 15th round. The block was then auctioned at a revenue share of 37.50%. The coal block is expected to generate annual revenue of more than Rs.1200 crores to the state and generate employment for more than 8000 people, the release added.
To this, the BJP-led state government has also accused the Congress of taking a contradictory position on the issue. BJP leader and CMDC Chairman Saurabh Singh said former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had himself written to the Centre in June 2021 seeking allocation of the Tara coal block to the Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC).
Singh also alleged that Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, when he was Union Environment Minister, had granted Stage-I forest clearance to the Tara project in 2011, despite the Forest Advisory Committee not recommending it.
The BJP said the auction does not mean mining can begin immediately. The successful bidder will still have to obtain forest and environmental clearances and fulfil other statutory requirements.
Singh also rejected Congress claims that more than one million trees would be felled for the project, saying the actual number would be much lower and that any tree cutting, if approved, would take place in phases. He highlighted the state government's plantation drive, claiming that around 70 million saplings had been planted in the past two years.
The BJP also cited the India State of Forest Report 2023, which recorded an increase of 683.62 square kilometres in Chhattisgarh's forest and tree cover.
Congress, however, has strongly opposed the auction. In a statement on September 10, Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said the Tara coal block had been auctioned to CG Syn-Gas and Chemicals Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mundra Synenergy Ltd, which is in turn owned by Adani Enterprises Ltd.
Ramesh cited several earlier decisions to question the auction. He pointed out that the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution on July 26, 2022, demanding that no further coal blocks be allocated or auctioned in Hasdeo Arand.
He also said the then Chhattisgarh government had told the Supreme Court in July 2023 that there was no need to allocate or develop new mines in the Hasdeo Arand region. According to Ramesh, the Union Ministry of Coal subsequently withdrew 40 coal blocks, including Tara, from the auction process in October 2023.
Ramesh said local tribal communities and other residents had been opposing mining in the region for around 15 years through Gram Sabha resolutions, protests and marches.
He claimed that the Tara block covers around 5,000 acres, including more than 4,000 acres of dense forest, and alleged that more than one million trees could be felled. He also warned that mining could affect elephant movement around the Lemru area and put other wildlife at risk.
The competing claims have brought the focus back on the future of mining in Hasdeo Arand. While the BJP and the Centre maintain that the auction process was based on the state government's revised position and that mining cannot begin without the required statutory clearances, the Congress argues that the project goes against earlier resolutions and assurances on protecting the region's forests and wildlife.
