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When the whole world is witnessing impacts of climate change like never before and a growing international consensus has emerged that fossil fuels must be phased out as soon as possible to reach global climate targets, India seems to be still felling trees for fossil fuel mining. This is happening at a time when rapid deforestation has been termed one of the main contributors to global warming and climate change. Recently, rampant tree-cutting for coal mining has been reported from Hasdeo in Chattisgarh, India.
On September 28, Hindustan Times reported that the forest department of Chattisgarh started felling trees from Monday (September 26) for the second phase of Parsa East Kente Basan (PEKB) coal mine project amid protests by locals and activists opposing the permission given to the coal mines in the Hasdeo Arand region which is known for its rich biodiversity.
The local collector (Deputy Commissioner) said to the media that the felling of trees was not being done for any new mine but it (PEKB) is an old mine and necessary clearances have already been obtained.
“Some external elements are opposing PEKB-2 in the name of Parsa Coal Mines, saying that it is a new mine, which is completely misleading and untrue. There has never been any objection from the locals regarding this area of PEKB-2,” the Hindustan Times report quoted the Deputy Commissioner as saying.
We spoke to Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan convenor Alok Shukla on this. Shukla said, “Around 8000 trees in 43 hectares of land have been felled so far and this has been done despite the local gram sabhas opposing the mining.”
He further said that the government is claiming that this is not a ‘new mine’ and the clearance has already been attained but this cannot be a justification for so many trees being cut.
“The fact of the matter is that the local gram sabhas had opposed the mining, still the government ignored their authority and continued with the deforestation. Even if it is a so-called second phase of an ‘earlier mine’, this cannot justify the rampant felling of so many trees when the whole world is fighting against global warming and climate change,” Shukla said.
Deforestation and Climate Change
The IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land warns that ‘deforestation exacerbates the effects of climate change, such as water scarcity, drought and food shortages’. According to another landmark report by the IPCC, land-use change and land management like deforestation and degradation have contributed to 10% of all global carbon dioxide emissions.
Also, a recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report found that deforestation is responsible for almost 15% of global carbon emissions. “Deforestation is responsible for nearly 15 percent of global CO2 emissions. Every year, 10 million hectares of tropical forest are lost and if we do not halt this by 2030, it will be impossible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius,” the report said.
According to data from Global Forest Watch, India lost 1.93 million hectares of its tree cover between 2001-2020 which amounts to 951 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent. India witnessed an unprecedented wave of heat wave this year followed by drought-like conditions in many parts of the country because of climate change. This year, the Monsoon proved to be quite erratic for the country too and a major part of the country received deficit rainfall in spite of the country recording normal average rainfall in 2022.
Globally recognized young climate activist from India, Licypriya Kangujam has been quite vocal about the Hasdeo situation. In an email, Licypriya wrote to Climate Fact Checks, she said, “When the world is fighting the global climate crisis with its worst impact, the Indian Government is busy destroying our planet. India poses as a global leader in fighting climate change but India is a global leader in importing coal and deforestation for mining activities. Our leaders need to walk the talk,” she said.
On the Hasdeo situation, she expressed concern about the fact that the felling of thousands of trees for coal mining will not only destroy the habitat of thousands of animals but the coal burning will also add to global carbon emissions.
She further said, “Hasdeo forest is the lungs for Chhattisgarh. It is one of the largest forests in India with rich biodiversity and homes for thousands of wildlife animals. Mining turns a forest into a desert by cutting down thousands of trees.”
She stressed on the fact that if we don’t stop deforestation then the world can’t be saved from a climate apocalypse.
“And also, many indigenous tribal people who are living inside the forest for hundreds of years are going to lose their homes and livelihoods. We need to stop Adani and save the Hasdeo forest. If we don’t stop deforestation and mining activities, we have to wait to face the climate apocalypse,” Kangujam added.
Coal still going strong
According to a recent Guardian report on a study, new coal mines and power stations are being developed by hundreds of coal companies across the world and this, according to the researchers of the study, is ‘reckless and irresponsible’ during the ongoing ‘climate emergency’. The study found that Coal India is aiming to double coal production to 1 billion tonnes a year by 2025 making it the biggest mining company in the list of the study.
In terms of actual generation, as of June 2022, coal, gas and oil accounted for 73.4% of India’s power generation. According to a report by the International Energy Agency, for India to achieve its renewable energy targets, renewables will have to be allowed to displace coal power plants locally and reforms introduced to power procurement and tariff rules that presently prioritize coal.
The Hasdeo Story
Known as the “lungs of Chhattisgarh”, the dense forest of Hasdeo is spread across 1,70,000 hectares over the three districts of Surajpur, Surguja and Korba. The region is one of central India’s most extensive contiguous tracts of forest and is known for its rich biodiversity.
These districts are also home to around 1.79 million Adivasis who are mostly from the Gond, Oraon and Lohar communities. The region has been divided into 18 coal blocks and has become the site of a long resistance between the authorities and the Adivasi communities fragmented by tree felling and mining.
In 2011, Parsa East Kete Basan (PEKB) was allotted to the Adani group through Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. Forest and environment clearance was granted despite expert bodies like the Indian Council of Forest Research and Education and the Wildlife Institute of India deeming Hasdeo Arand a ‘No-Go’ area.
The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution in July urging the Centre to cancel the allocation of coal blocks in Hasdeo Aranya forests. MLA Dharmjeet Singh of the opposition Janata Congress Chhattisgarh had moved the private member resolution saying that mining in the area would destroy the dense forests and trigger human-elephant conflict.
Earlier, the state government had granted permission for non-forestry use of 841.538 hectares of forest land for the Parsa mine and 1,136.328 hectares for PEKKB phase-II mine after Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot met chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in March. Following this, the forest department launched a tree-cutting exercise in May to start the PEKB phase II coal mine. This triggered strong opposition from local villagers and the proceedings were halted in June until they were resumed in September. This also resumed the protests but trees were nevertheless cut down this time.
Meanwhile, a ‘Save Hasdeo Conference’ has been announced on October 14 to protest against the deforestation for coal mining in Hasdeo.
“The rights of the tribals have been trodded upon by undermining the authority of the gram sabhas in the case of Hasdeo. The region is not only the lungs of Chattisgarh but the whole of India and this destruction is irreversible. We are organizing a ‘Save Hasdeo Conference’ on October 14 and hope for immense participation from all parts of the country,” Shukla added.
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