Adivasi villagers protesting against the forcible illegal deforestation in the Parsa Coal Mine in Hasdeo forests of Chhattisgarh were brutally lathi-charged by the police. Ramlal Kariyam, an activist of Hasdeo Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, and many protesting adivasi villagers were seriously injured. 

Groundxero | October 17, 2024

Protesting felling of trees for Parsa coal mine in Hasdeo forests of Chhattisgarh proved costly for the local adivasi community. The police brutally lathi-charged the protestors in which, Ramlal Kariyam, an activist of Hasdeo Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, and many adivasis were seriously injured. Angry adivasi villagers with bows, arrows and slingshots had gathered in the forest and tried to resist the felling of trees. They clashed with the police in which a few policemen were also reportedly injured. After the initial clashes, cutting of trees was started amidst deployment of heavy police force.

Ramlal Kariyam, an young adivasi activist hurt in clashes, when villagers tried to stop felling of trees under heavy police force for Adanis Parsa mine in Chhattisgarh.

Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan has condemned the police brutality on the protesting villagers saying that the forest and environmental clearances for Parsa coal mine in Hasdeo forests are based on fake documents, and demanded mining in the block to be cancelled immediately. Alok Shukla, convenor of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, said the Hasdeo forests, often described as the lungs of Central India, are ancient, pristine, and irreplaceable. The trees and natural water streams in this region are crucial to maintaining clean air and water supplies across Central and Northern Chhattisgarh. For generations, indigenous communities have protected these forests, ensuring that cities like Bilaspur and Korba continue to have access to clean drinking water.

Hasdeo Arand is one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest in central India spanning 170,000 hectares and has 23 coal blocks. A total of five billion tonnes of coal is estimated to be sitting under the dense forest area. So far, thousands of trees have been felled over 137 hectares of biodiversity-rich forest in Hasdeo for the Parsa East and Kanta Basan (PEKB) coal blocks of Chhattisgarh. PEKB and Parsa coal blocks were allotted to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL), and the Adani Group has been excavating coal from PEKB mine as RRVUNL’s “mine developer and operator” (MDO).

Spread across 1,898 hectares of dense forest, the PEKB block was to be mined in two phases—762 hectares in stage 1, and 1,136 hectares in stage 2.  In the face of fierce opposition from the indigenous communities and forest right activists, sustained and widespread peoples’ movements against mining by destroying forest, so far only one coal mine, PEKB (Parsa East Kete Basan), has been opened. Nefarious efforts are continuing by the Adani-government nexus to open new blocks for further mining.

Environmental activist Alok Shukla of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Aandolan, estimated that nearly 150,000 trees were cut in over a decade ending 2022 to clear 762 hectares of forest in stage 1 of RRVUNL’s mining in the PEKB block. According to news website The Wire, trees over 43 hectares were cut in 2022, while another 91 hectares were denuded in the same area in early 2023. Since December 21, 2023 more deforestation activities have taken place. In July 2024, the Union environment ministry informed the Rajya Sabha that around 273,000 more trees are likely to be felled in coming years for mining in Hasdeo Arand forests as “no complete ban on mining was recommended” by the wildlife and biodiversity institutions. The minister said that according to the report, 94,460 trees have been felled in Parsa East Kete Basan Mine.

The repot the minister is talking about is a 2021 study by the Wildlife Institute Of India (WII)—an research institute under the union environment ministry—recommending that mining operations be permitted only in portions of the PEKB block already open for mining, while other areas in the Hasdeo Arand coalfield (HACF) and surrounding lands be declared ‘no-go areas’ for mining. Hasdeo Arand is home to “rare, endangered and threatened fauna”, according to a government research institute. Besides being a source of livelihood from timber, fruit and medicinal herbs and leaves, the more than 30 species of trees including teak, neem, mahua, jamun and others, are also worshipped by local indigenous communities as deities. The WII report said that up to 70% of the income of local Adivasis who depended on forest resources, including food, fodder, fuel to medicinal plants, and socio-cultural values of the region will be destroyed. The report mentioned the presence of “irreplaceable, rich biodiversity” in the region and stated “Therefore, sustaining the forest cover and maintaining its overall ecological integrity is essential.”

Besides the loss of tens of thousands of trees, hundreds of tribal families have been displaced by the mining, while thousands more are at risk of being displaced. For the past many years, tribal right activists from Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, Save Hasdeo Forest Committee as well as Gram Sabha leaders have been actively protesting the relentless tree felling.

Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA) in a statement today said that the Gram Sabhas of Hariharpur, Salhi, Fatehpur have never given consent for forest clearance and have consistently opposed any forest clearances for mining. These Gram Sabhas have never granted their consent in any form, but in 2018, the company reportedly coerced the Sarpanch and secretary into forging documents to obtain the necessary clearances, alleged the CBA statement.

The statement pointed out that in the year 2021, representatives from 30 villages travelled 300 kilometres on foot to reach Raipur, where they met the state Governor. The Governor promised them that the fraud allegations against the company would be thoroughly investigated. In response to the mounting environmental concerns and public pressure, the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on 27th July 2022, stating that no coal mining should take place in the Hasdeo forests. Furthermore, this year, the Chhattisgarh Scheduled Tribes Commission launched an inquiry into the forged Gram Sabha documents submitted by the company.

However, even before the ST Commission could release its findings, or even before the Assembly could hold further discussions in the matter, a heavy police force was deployed in the forest villages from the night of 16 October 2024, to resume clearing of forest by felling trees. On the other hand, the villagers, determined to defend their forests, kept vigil throughout the night. In the early morning, the police launched a brutal crackdown to forcibly evict the villagers from the forests, resulting in severe injuries to some of the villagers.

Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan has called for an immediate halt to the tree felling at the Parsa coal mine, and demanded swift release of the investigation report on the fraudulent actions by the company, and strict punitive action against all officials and company representatives involved in this deceit. The representatives from the Sarva Adivasi Samaj, Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, and Adivasi students today met with the Chairman and Secretary of the Scheduled Tribes Commission, demanding the immediate release of the investigation report and its recommendations concerning the forged Gram Sabha documents.