The Hasdeo forest in Chhattisgarh saw villagers clash with the police earlier this month, after tree-felling for mining of coal resumed in the green belt. Two police personnel, part of the security cover provided to forest officials, sustained arrow injuries, and 10 tribal people were booked for attempt to murder and rioting by the Sarguja police. What is the Hasdeo Arand, and why are villagers and environment activists protesting for its 'protection'? What is the Hasdeo Arand forest? The Hasdeo Arand is referred to as the “lungs of Chhattisgarh”, with a wealth of biodiversity. According to the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Hasdeo Arand is the “largest un-fragmented forests in Central India consisting of pristine Sal (Shorea robusta) and teak forests.” The Hasdeo-Arand Coalfield (HAC) covers an area of 1,879.6 sqkm, spanning three districts of Sarguja, Korba and Surajpur, in the northern tribal belt of Chhattisgarh. As per a 2021 report by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), nine species in HAC have special protection under schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. These include Elephant, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Indian Grey Wolf, Honey Badger, Four-Horned Antelope, Indian Pangolin, Giant squirrel, and Rusty spotted cat. There are 92 species of birds in Hasdeo and 25 different mammals,16 types of snakes. Its also a habitat as well as a corridor for elephants and a corridor for tigers. According to the ICFRE in 2021, there are 640 floral species, 128 medicinal plants and 40 timber-yielding species of plants. What is the significance of Hasdeo in terms of mining? So far, 23 coal blocks have been identified that cover an area of 437.72 sq.km, about 25% of the HAC. Seven coal blocks have been auctioned: PEKB, Parsa, Kente Extension, Tara, Paturiya Gidmuri, Chotia, Madanpur South. However, the Paturiya Gidmuri, Madanpur South and Tara coal blocks have been surrendered to the Union coal ministry by the former state government. PEKB (phase 1 and 2), Parsa and Kente extension coal blocks have been allotted to the Rajasthan government i.e., the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL), and the mining contract is with Adani Enterprises limited. Why has mining been opposed in Hasdeo? Locals say the mining will destroy their villages, the forest cover around them, and hit their livelihood, which depends completely on farming and forest produce. Some villagers are also unhappy with the compensation and resettlement offer made by the government, which moves them into smaller houses than they currently have. The villagers have also alleged that fake gram sabha resolution documents from Salhi and Hariharpur Gramsabhas were used to secure forest and environment clearance for the Parsa Coal Block. Further, a fake gram sabha was conducted in Ghatbarra for land acquisition for Phase II of the PEKB coal block, they claim. The current flashpoint has arisen as activists want the Parsa coal block cancelled. They also want an assurance that the 1,995 sq km Lemru Reserve Forest, notification for which was passed in 2021, will not be touched. Already, 40 coal blocks (31 inside and 9 adjoining the reserve) have been cancelled by the Union Coal Ministry, on the request of the previous Congress state government. The Hasdeo tree-felling protests are led by Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CAB). Environment activist and member of CAB, Alok Shukla, said, “The current government must respect the resolution passed by the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly on July 26, 2022, on cancellation of all coal blocks. No gram Sabha ever gave their consent for any tree-cutting in Hasdeo and the deforestation is a violation of provisions under Schedule V of the Constitution. The tribal commission report on the issue is nearing completion, but it seems the government is under pressure from corporates and is rushing to cut the trees.” Others organisations like Hasdeo Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, Chhattisgarh Kranti Sena, Johar Chhattisgarh Party, Yuva Sena of the Sarva Adivasi Samaj, Adivasi Yuva Chhatra Sangathan, CPI(M), and the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha, which led the farmers protest in Punjab, are also supporting the movement. What is the status of mining now? The mining process for PEKB phase 2, Parsa and Kete extension is going on. In 2012, a total of 1898.328 hectares of forest land was given for PEKB phase 1 and 2 mining. In this, Phase 1 mining on 762 ha was completed and in 2022, clearance was given for the remaining forest land. The work of felling 7,960 trees on 43.630 hectares of land has been done in 2022-2023 and felling of 12, 631 trees was done on 91.130 hectares in 2023-2024. A total of 96,042 (nearly a lakh) trees have been cut officially for PEKB since 2012, however, activists claim the real figure is over 1.5 lakh. For the Parsa coal block, close to 5,800 trees were cut on October 17 and October 18. The work of cutting trees for Kete Extension has not begun. What is the stand of ruling BJP and Congress? The Congress party's position has evolved over time. When Congress was in power, the meeting of Ashok Gehlot and former CM Bhupesh Baghel had led to resuming of coal mining as part of the project in March 2022. Five months later, in July, under its government, the Vidhan Sabha passed a resolution, which got full support of BJP MLAs, for the deallocation/cancellation of the coal blocks in Hasdeo Arand. On October 31, 2022, the then Baghel government wrote to the Centre to cancel the forest clearance to the Parsa Open coal block, stating that “widespread public protest has created a law and order situation in the HAC.” On May 1, 2023, the then Congress state government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court to stop all coal mining in Hasdeo Aranya and withdrawing forest clearance to Parsa open coal block. It cited “the area’s biodiversity richness and hydrological importance” for this demand. It had also said that the PEKB mine “contains coal deposits of 350 million tons that are yet to be mined. This deposit is sufficient to meet the entire coal demand for the linked power plants of 4,340 MW for nearly 20 years.” Despite multiple attempts, no official response from BJP was received. However, on the day of the protest, senior BJP leader Sanjay Shrivastav had told The Indian Express that the government will move forward only with the people’s consent. “The BJP government’s stand is very clear. The people there must get proper provisions so that they do not face any kind of losses. The government will give attention to this,” said Shrivastav. Soon after the violence in Hasdeo after the tree-cutting on October 17, senior Congress leaders condemned the incident and pledged their support to tribals. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, said in a social media post, “The attempt to forcibly embezzle the forest and land of the tribals through violent use of police force in Hasdeo Aranya is a violation of the fundamental rights of the tribals.” Former Chhattisgarh deputy CM T S Singh Deo, the senior-most Congress leader from Surguja region, said: “The attempt to snatch the land of tribal brothers and sisters by misuse of police force in Hasdeo Aranya is unconstitutional and unjust.” How many trees have been planted to compensate for the tree-cutting in the PEKB coal block? As per official information published on a board in Hasdeo, so far between 2012 till March 2024, a total of 11.65 lakh trees have been planted.
