Chhattisgarh pushes Adani-run coal block despite WII red flag

Chhattisgarh pushes Adani-run coal block despite WII red flag

Context:

Despite a biodiversity report from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) warning that the forests in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Aranya Coal Field (HACF) should be declared a “nogoarea”, the state government is pushing for permission to start phase II of mining in the PEKB coal block, in the same area.

Background:

• The PEKB — Parsa (East) and Kete Basan—coal block is owned by Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited and run by Adani Enterprises, which is the official Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) in this ventur
• The records from a meeting of the Union Environment Ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) on October28 show the committee analyzed an “instant request” for clearance filed by the state government. The FAC was discussing on diversion of forestland for PEKB coal block’s phase II spread across 1,136-hectare forests.

Concept:

Go No Go Area :

• In 2009, the Environment and Coal Ministries had jointly placed the country’s forested areas under two categories – Go and No-Go zones.
• ‘No-Go’ areas are regions that were classified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change as containing very dense forests and hence closed to coal mining.
• The exercise is aimed at prioritising forest areas under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
• ‘No Go’ areas are those having either more than 10 per cent weighted forest cover (WFC) or more than 30 per cent gross forest cover (GFC).

Forest Advisory Committee:

• The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) is a Statutory Body created under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
• The Forest Advisory Committee functions under the aegis of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• While its role is advisory, it comprises of official members, including the top bosses of the forest bureaucracy and three independent experts, who are the non-official members.
• This committee considers questions on the diversion of forest land for non-forest uses such as mining, industrial projects, townships and advises the government on the issue of granting Forest Clearances.