Coal news and updates

Amid low-key protests by some villagers and dissent from activist groups, a fresh public hearing has approved environmental clearing of four MTPA coal mining projects of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and four MTPA coal washery at Gare in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh.

 

"The fresh public hearing was conducted and it went on till late Wednesday night, where 1,326 voted in favour of the project, while 190 opposed granting clearance to the project. The proceedings went smooth without any problem. However, there were some low-key protests," a spokesman of Raigarh district administration said.

 

The fresh public hearing proceedings assumes significance as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in April last year had set aside the environmental clearance (EC) granted to four MTPA coal mining projects of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and four MTPA coal washery at Gare on grounds of faulty public hearing.

 

Allocation of new coal mine to Jindal group had sparked a controversy and the public hearing in 2008 had turned violent, injuring several people after they had clashed with the police. Later, the company was granted environmental clearance by the ministry of environment in May 2009.

 

After it was challenged before the National Green Tribunal, the NGT directed that the public hearing may be conducted again but not under additional district magistrate (ADM), who conducted it earlier. The verdict delivered by Justice CV Ramulu and Prof R Nagendran had held in April last year that the entire "public hearing was a farce and makes a mockery of the public hearing process".

 

Activists groups, however, are crying foul again, describing the fresh public hearing also as "illegal". Quoting the Forest Rights Act, they argue that unless community and individual right of forest land is distributed before the hearing tribal land cannot be acquired. Environment group Jan Chetna Manch representative Rajesh Tripathi argued that Gare IV/06 is one of the "disputed" blocks and under consideration of Supreme Court, hence the decisions of public hearing would become null and void if the coal block allocation is cancelled at a later stage.

 

Meanwhile, a spokesman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) said the company was committed to continue its efforts for overall development of Raigarh as well as in Tamnar area, where it had provided basic amenities and contributed for infrastructure development, besides taking up development and welfare initiatives under its corporate social responsibility.

 

Source: ToI