The state government identified an additional land parcel of 1,217 hectares, of which 1,086 hectares was found suitable for plantation.Rajasthan State-owned electricity producer — Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RVUNL) — has been granted an in-principle approval to clear 1,742.6 hectares in Hasdeo Arand forest in Surguja, Chhattisgarh, classified as ‘high-conservation zone’ category in government’s own decision support system tool.The in-principle clearance for the diversion of the large tract of dense to moderately dense forests, including felling of 4.48 lakh trees, comes with the specific condition that the tree felling as well as mining will happen in phases.The Kente extension coal block (KECB) will be mined by the Adani Group, the developer and operator of the coal mine, and it will feed the Chhabra and Suratgarh coal plants in Rajasthan, as per official documents. RVUNL was allotted the coal block in October 2015 for captive use of coal at its Chabbra and Suratgarh coal plants.This is the third big coalfield that has been granted clearance; Parsa coal block (PCB) and Parsa East Kente Basan (PEKB) open cast mines are already operational in the Hasdeo forests, once earmarked as a no-go zone.The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), chaired by the Director General of Forests, granted the in-principle or Stage-I approval after appraising the RVUNL proposal in its May 8 meeting, minutes of the panel meeting show. The clearance also comes amid a sustained opposition by tribal groups, and representations sent to the FAC by civil society groups opposing the opening of another large coal block in the biodiversity-rich forest.RVUNL and the Chhattisgarh government have justified opening the new mine as it is “essential to meet the coal requirement of RVUNL’s thermal power plants (total installed capacity: 7830 MW), which have an annual coal demand of about 24.05 MT”, as per FAC’s meeting minutes.“The existing captive coal blocks (PEKB and PCB) are insufficient, and the additional requirement of about 9 MT is proposed to be met from KECB,” it said.Story continues below this adThe FAC directed that the mining will be done in two phases. “During phase-I, covering 15 years, the mining shall be restricted to 1001.95 hectares of the forest land. During the phase-II, the mining permission for remaining 740.65 hectares will be linked to reforestation and biodiversity management in Phase-I,” the FAC noted in its minutes.Tree felling will also be taken up in phases. In the first five years, 97,837 trees will be cut; In phase II, between year six and ten, 59,712 trees will be cut. The Chhattisgarh government has been directed to ensure that tree felling is strictly done in a phased manner and 67,414 trees, below 60 cm girth, have to be translocated.To compensate for the loss of forests, the state forest department has proposed compensatory afforestation (CA) in 3,233.3 hectares of degraded forest land, of which 636 hectares is orange forest, not notified as forests in records. The ministry had earlier pointed out that 1,054 hectares of CA land was moderately dense forest.The state government identified an additional land parcel of 1,217 hectares, of which 1,086 hectares was found suitable for plantation.Story continues below this adThe KECB is located in a biodiversity-rich area, which has been well-documented in the biodiversity assessment of the larger Hasdeo Arand coalfields carried out by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and Wildlife Institute of India.The KECB is located less than 4 kms away from Lemru elephant corridor’s buffer zone. The Chhattisgarh government has admitted to the FAC that elephants and other key wildlife species such as sloth bear, barking deer, jackals, fox, hyena, Indian grey wolf and wild pig have been reported in and around the proposed area.The state government has also admitted, as per minutes of the FAC meeting, the impact on elephant movement. “Since the elephant movement is also reported outside the Lemru Elephant Reserve and near to the proposed site…It is likely that the proposed mine is going to impact the elephant movement in and around the Lemru elephant reserve. The likely conflict is very well documented and addressed in the Wildlife Management Plan duly approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden,” the FAC minutes noted. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Rajasthan