Hectic lobbying to reopen the Adani mines file has apparently forced Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh to revisit the issue. On January 26,he will visit the site of the groups proposed coalmine at Lohara village just outside the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur. Yes,I am under pressure on the matter but wont buckle under it. I am visiting the area on January 26, Ramesh said. In November 2009,his ministry had refused permission for the proposed mine citing environmental concerns,particularly tiger conservation. The proposed mine was in a dense patch of forest,partly in TATRs eco-sensitive zone that serves as a crucial tiger corridor from north to south Chandrapur. The rejection of the proposal is said to have led to disquiet in certain quarters of the Union Cabinet that had firmly backed it. The project was to supply coal to the groups 1,100-MW power project coming up at Tiroda in Gondia district. Several environmental organisations,besides Maharashtra Forest department and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), had opposed the mine plan. Meanwhile,Chief Minister Ashok Chavans office has not replied to even one of the three letters from the NTCA sent over the past few months expressing concern over various wildlife issues in Maharashtra,officials said. Ramesh had first written to Chavan in September 2009,over various crises in the TATR (with special mention of the threat from the proposed Adani mines). Subsequently,two more letters were sent on issues such as delay in declaration of buffer zones of the three state tiger reserves and release of NTCA funds for the reserves. Two days ago,in a two-line written message received by the NTCA,the CMs office acknowledged the receipt of the letters and said the state will duly reply. Chavan,who had skipped the important State Wildlife Board meeting immediately after becoming the Chief Minister last year,hasnt yet found time to clear the file for notifying the TATR buffer zone sent to him about eight months ago. The process for preparing proposals for Pench and Melghat is in the final stage, said a senior Forest Department officer.
