Govt. backing ‘ecocide’ by going ahead with Tara coal block auction: Congress

Why in the News

The Tara (Revised) coal block in the Hasdeo Aranya region of Chhattisgarh has been auctioned and allocated. The block covers about 5,000 acres, of which over 4,000 acres is dense forest. The auction reverses a settled position on the region: the State Assembly had resolved against further coal allocation there, the State told the Supreme Court that no new mines were needed, and the Union Coal Ministry had denotified the block from the auction process. Local Gram Sabhas have opposed mining in the region for nearly 15 years. The principal Opposition party has described the auction as “ecocide”. The contest is between a commercial coal allocation and both the ecological value of a contiguous forest and the recorded consent position of the communities inside it.

What does the Tara block auction involve on the ground?

1. Area and forest share: The block covers about 5,000 acres, of which over 4,000 acres is dense forest in a biodiversity rich ecosystem.
2. Scale of felling: Working the block would require the clear felling of more than 10 lakh trees.
3. A renaming, not a redesign: The block was renamed Tara (Revised), which does not materially alter what is being mined or where.
4. Who won it: The successful bidder is CG Syn Gas and Chemicals Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mundra Synenergy Limited, itself wholly owned by Adani Enterprises Limited.

Which earlier decisions does the auction reverse?

1. A unanimous legislative resolution: The Chhattisgarh Assembly resolved unanimously in July 2022 that no further coal blocks should be allocated or auctioned in Hasdeo Aranya.
2. The State’s position before the Supreme Court: The State government filed an affidavit in July 2023 stating that there was no need to allocate or develop any new mines in the region.
3. The State’s request to the Centre: The State wrote to the Union Coal Ministry in June 2023 seeking the exclusion of nine coal blocks, including this one, from the auction.
4. The Centre’s own earlier step: The Union Coal Ministry denotified 40 coal blocks, including this one, from the auction process in October 2023.

What are the ecological stakes beyond the loss of trees?

1. An elephant corridor runs through it: Mining around the Lemru Elephant Reserve would disrupt the movement corridor that elephant herds use through the region.
2. Species at the sharper end: Other species in the same landscape, including critically endangered ones, would be placed at further risk.
3. Replacement planting is contested: Compensatory afforestation replaces a diverted natural forest with a plantation raised elsewhere, and the objection is that no such planting can substitute for the loss of a contiguous mature forest of this size.

How have the affected communities recorded their opposition?

1. A fifteen year record of refusal: Adivasi and other local communities have opposed mining in Hasdeo Aranya for close to 15 years.
2. The formal route used: Opposition has been recorded through Gram Sabha resolutions, the village assembly decisions that the forest diversion process is required to consider.
3. Beyond the paperwork: The same communities have run public campaigns, sit ins and protest marches, including in Raipur.

Challenges to auctioning coal blocks under dense forest

1. The bid parameter does not price the forest: A commercial coal block is won on the revenue share offered to the State, so a block under dense forest competes on the same financial terms as one under farmland. Eg. Commercial auctions are decided on the percentage of revenue a bidder offers, with no ecological weighting in the bid.
   The Fix: Make a graded forest quality threshold a qualifying condition, so blocks above it never enter the auction list.
2. Allocation happens before clearance is decided: A block is sold before forest and environmental clearance is settled, which converts a later refusal into the cancellation of an existing commercial commitment. Eg. The Parsa East and Kete Basan blocks in the same forest received clearance only after allocation and years of litigation.
   The Fix: Complete the forest diversion decision for a block before it is offered, so the auction follows the environmental appraisal rather than preceding it.
3. Recorded consent is weakly verified: Consent is captured as a Gram Sabha resolution at the diversion stage, and a refusal has repeatedly been overridden or replaced by a fresh resolution. Eg. Gram Sabhas in Hasdeo Aranya alleged in 2022 that consent recorded for a neighbouring block had been forged.
   The Fix: Require independent verification of every consent resolution and publication of the minutes before diversion is recommended.
4. Impact is appraised one block at a time: Each clearance assesses a single block, so the combined effect of several mines inside one contiguous forest is never evaluated as a whole. Eg. Hasdeo Aranya holds multiple allocated coal blocks within a single forest stretch and a shared river catchment.
   The Fix: Require a cumulative impact assessment for the entire coalfield before any further block inside it is auctioned.

Conclusion

The block has been allocated, and the operative decisions now move to the forest diversion and clearance stage, where the State and the Centre must each take a position again. The unresolved tension is that a legislature and a State executive have recorded one view of the region. The auction machinery has proceeded on another, with no mechanism that reconciles the two. What to watch is whether the recorded refusals are treated as binding inputs at the diversion stage, and whether the dispute returns to court before mining begins.

Back2Basics: Elephant Reserves

1. What the designation is: An elephant reserve is an area declared by a State government to protect elephant populations and the corridors between their habitats.
2. The programme behind it: Reserves are declared under Project Elephant, launched by the Union environment ministry in 1992 to support elephant range States.
3. Its legal weight: The designation is administrative, and it carries none of the statutory bar on land use that applies inside a national park or wildlife sanctuary.
4. The species status: The Asian elephant is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2025, GS3, 15 marks] Mineral resources are fundamental to the country economy and these are exploited by mining. Why is mining considered an environmental hazard? Explain the remedial measures required to reduce the environmental hazard due to mining.”