Coal Mining Gets Green Nod in Chhattisgarh's Hasdeo Forests Despite Biodiversity Warnings
The Union Environment Ministry has granted environmental clearance for coal mining in the Kente extension block within Chhattisgarh's Hasdeo-Arand forests. The clearance, issued on June 24, allows for an integrated open cast mine and washery with a projected annual production capacity of 9 million tonnes. This follows an in-principle forest clearance granted on June 9, and a recommendation from the ministry's expert appraisal committee in January 2025.
The Kente extension block, spread over 1,760 hectares in Surguja district, was allocated to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Ltd in 2015. The Adani Group is the mine developer and operator. Coal from the mine will be transported to Rajasthan's Chhabra and Suratgarh power plants.
This is the third major coalfield cleared in the Hasdeo forests, which were once designated a no-go zone for mining to protect forests and wildlife. The Parsa and Parsa East Kente Basan (PEKB) mines are already operational in the area.
The Hasdeo-Arand forests are considered Central India's green lungs, hosting around 640 plant species and nine Schedule I wildlife species, which enjoy the highest legal protection. Approximately 40-50 elephants use the forests overlapping the coalfield. The forest also serves as a catchment for the Hasdeo River, which joins the Mahanadi.
A 2021 biodiversity assessment by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for the larger Hasdeo-Arand coalfield (HACF) recommended against mining in the forests, except in the already operational Parsa East Kente Basan mine, citing likely impacts on biodiversity. The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), in a joint study with WII, suggested that the Kente extension case could be decided with strict environmental safeguards, particularly regarding surface water management and biodiversity conservation, given the dense forest cover and wildlife presence.
The clearance has drawn opposition from local tribal communities and the Congress party, who cite large-scale deforestation. Official documents indicate that 1,742.6 hectares of forest land will be diverted, with plans to fell approximately 4.48 lakh trees in phases. In the first five years, nearly 98,000 trees will be felled, and an additional 60,000 trees are slated for felling from the sixth to the tenth year. The Chhattisgarh government has been directed to translocate 67,414 trees with a girth below 60 cm and to conduct felling strictly in phases.
The project will affect 56 families in Kente, Basan, Chakeri, and Parogia villages in Surguja's Udaipur tehsil. They are to be rehabilitated according to a state government-approved relief and rehabilitation plan.
