Mahan coal block violates FRA: Deo

Pointing out that green nod for Mahan Coal Block in Madhya Pradesh is a “blatant breach” of Forest Rights Act,Union Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo has written to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Governor Ram Naresh Yadav.

In a letter dated June 7,Deo told Chouhan the FRA was being violated in villages in Singrauli district and granting forest clearance to the Mahan coal block would be a “complete breach of the legal requirements of FRA and the need for the consent of the gram sabhas before starting mining activity”.

Deo has alleged that the process to implement FRA is not yet over and not a single ‘community forest right’ has been granted in Singrauli district. “In spite of the multiple letters written to the concerned Collector and the MoEF by the community on non-implementation of FRA,there has been no response,” the letter stated. He said the gram sabhas are being “threatened and coerced by police and administration along with company goons”.