CG Govt Writes to Centre Seeking Cancellation of Forest Clearance for Parsa Project

RAIPUR: In view of the protests against the clearance given to the coal mines project in the Hasdeo Arand region, the state energy department has written to the center urging to cancel the approval for the diversion of forest land for the Pars opencast coal mine in the area, an official said on Tuesday.
In the letter written on Monday, the state forest dept, the director general of forests, Union Minry of Environment, Forest and Climate have sought to cancel the approval of nonforestry use of 841.548 hectares of forest land for Parsa coal mine allotted to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited.
“There is a law-and-order situation in Hasdeo area due to protest against mining, hence in the light of public protest, law and order and overall benefit of locals the government urges to cancel the forest diversion,” the letter said.
It was on April 6th, 2022, the state govt had given final approval for the non-forestry use of land and coal mining under section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act 1980 for the Parsa Opencast Coal Mining Project, which falls under the Surajpur and Surguja dricts of the CG. Protests erupted as deforestation began on April 23rd.
According to activs around 700 people would be displaced and around 800 hectares of dense forest will be destroyed due to the project. It should be noted that the allotment of the forest land was done after the Rajasthan CM Gehlot met his CG counterpart Bhupesh Baghel in March and sought clearance in the development of the coal blocks allotted to the former state.