RAIPUR: In a significant decision, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has, on grounds of violations quashed the Environmental Clearance (EC) granted to Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Ltd (Mahagenco) for the coal mine project at Raigarh, about 230 km east of Raipur.
The proposed mine is spread over a huge area of 2583.48 hectares across 14 villages in Tamnar block of Raigarh district with Adani Enterprises Limited as the Mine Developer and Operator.
The Gare Palma Sector-II project in Tamnar had faced strong opposition from the people of the region since it was first proposed in 2015. In September 2019, a public hearing was conducted amidst protests which led to clashes and FIRs being registered against several youths hailing from the affected villages.
The Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) granted an EC to the project on 11 July 2022.
Four appellants, including the locals Premshila Rathia (village Bandhapali), Narad, Kanahi Patel (village Kosampali) and Rinchin, challenged the EAC’s decision and filed an appeal against the granted EC before the NGT in October 2022.
NGT stated that the MoEF&CC may re-examine the matter from the stage of conducting public consultation afresh and a new order may be passed with regard to prior EC in accordance with law and existing state of environment and ecology.
After a long deliberation, the NGT approved the petitioners’ appeal and quashed the EC for the Gare Palma Sector-II project. The legal violations in granting the EC apparently included no proper public consultation owing to which objections and legitimate concerns of the affected people were stated to be ignored, lack of adequate attention and consideration of serious public health concerns (including those raised in an existing ICMR report for the area).
The other grounds elucidated during the NGT proceedings were the failure to consider previous directions issued by it in the case of Shivpal Bhagat vs Union of India, especially in regard to conducting a carrying capacity of the area which has already suffered serious environmental degradation due to numerous mining and industrial projects besides lack of proper hydrological study to assess the project’s impact.
“The NGT decision is a victory for the people, who have waged a long-running struggle to protect their livelihoods and environmental rights from existing coal mining and industrial activity”, said the petitioners who argued the case in person before the NGT.
Around a dozen coal mines, thermal power plants, coal washeries and sponge iron plants are already operating in the region. At least 10 more coal mines are currently proposed for development by different private organisations, public utilities.
The petitioners eulogised the NGT’s decision and cited it as the beginning of a move towards social and environmental justice.
“The disastrous health and environmental impacts of these existing and upcoming projects, the illegalities in acquisition of tribal land or disregard for forest rights and repeated violations of environmental norms by companies involved in them, have been extensively documented by civil society organisations” , they further asserted.