The National Green Tribunal (NGT), principle bench, Delhi, has ordered the creation of a committee and is seeking an action taken report (ATR) on the auction of Bander coal blocks near Tadoba. The committee will include a MoEFCC delegate, the chief of state wildlife warden and a chief conservator (CCF). Within six weeks a reply sought from the respondents by the tribunal.
Even as the late order was released on Friday on a petition by Bandu Dhotre, founder, Eco-Pro, the coal ministry issued orders on July 21 to remove Bander coal block as it falls in Tadoba’s Eco-sensitive Zone (ESZ) in Chandrapur district.
NGT bench comprising justice Sheo Kumar Singh and expert member Siddhanta Das took serious note of the allegations against the ministry of coal and MoEFCC about the invitation to auction on June 18. Eco-Pro has filed environmental interest litigation (EIL) by environmental lawyer Asim Sarode. The Bander block is very close to Tadoba and enters the buffer zone at its edge.
Sarode said, “It’s shocking to learn the coal block lies in the forest reserve. The mining plan was first rejected by the Ministry of Environment in 1999 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister and then again during the tenure of Manmohan Singh in 2010.
The petitioner demanded that the Biodiversity Board should be directed to present Bander area Biodiversity Assessment Report.
The petitioner stated that if coal mining is permitted in this region, more than 1,200 hectares of biodiversity rich and tiger-bearing forest land would be diverted. He said Bander falls, to Bor and Melghat tiger reserves in tiger corridor. In Chandrapur, man animal conflict is on the rise and forest clearing for mining would increase the problem.
Even then environmental minister Jairam Ramesh had, rejected the Bander blocks and placed them in the ‘no-go’ zone by providing scientific reasons. The petition includes respondents from the MoEFCC, coal ministry, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB), and forest secretary.
