Gram sabhas in Hasdeo Arand, Surguja, Chhattisgarh District, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to stop auctioning five coal blocks in the district for commercial mining on 18 June.
Nine Sarpanch and a Janpad member of Podi Uproda Panchayat in the Korba district wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on Tuesday, requesting that the new auctions be held. They also said that no coal blocks in the Hasdeo Arand region should be put up for auction or allocation.
A total of 16 coal blocks are scheduled to be auctioned in Chhattisgarh on 18 June. They include five in Hasdeo Arand and Mand Raigarh, two in Bishrampur and Tatapani-Ramkola, and one in Korba and Panchbahani.
“Total 20 gram sabhas of the region have been regularly passing resolutions against mining and auction/allotment of coal blocks in the region since the last five years. Even when the first phase of auctions was happening in 2015, these gram sabhas had written to the PM,” the letter stated.
These villages are said to be within the scope of Schedule 5 where, pursuant to the provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) or the PESA Act and the Forest Rights Act (FRA), the consent of gram sabhas is required before mining can begin. Gram sabhas remained opposed to mining and resolved not to give their consent.
According to the letter, the proposed mining sites are in extremely densely forested areas rich in biodiversity and the habitat of elephants and other endangered species. They are known as “Chhattisgarh ‘s lungs” and have been protected by local communities for centuries.
“These regions were also part of the No-Go area in 2010, and most parts continue to be under ‘inviolate’ as per the latest documents of the current state government. Such regions need to be conserved at any cost,” the letter said.
Citizens expressed surprise and dissatisfaction that, amid continued opposition from the Gram Sabhas, six coal blocks in Hasdeo Arand were included in the auction list.
The letter expressed its dissatisfaction that, on the one hand, the Prime Minister spoke of “atma nirbharta” (self-reliance) and, on the other hand, these auctions were an assault on the livelihood and culture of adivasis and forest-dwelling communities.
“In the region, the gram sabhas have already built a model of ‘atma-nirbhar’ local self-governance under the provisions of PESA and FRA. And disregarding the gram sabha resolutions and local opinions seems contrary to the spirit of ‘atma nirbharta’ that the PM has spoken about,” the letter said.
A copy of the letter was also sent to the Union ministers for coal, environment, forests, climate change and tribal affairs and the chief minister of Chhattisgarh.
“When the PM talks about ‘atma nirbharta’, the government should also recognise the ‘atma nirbhar’ model of local self-governance under PESA, FRA and Schedule 5 provisions. How can it ignore gram sabha resolutions and continued opposition from the local community against mining and auction or allotment? This is not only an attack on local communities but blatant disregard for environmental concerns. Mining in an inviolate and ecologically important Hasdeo will be disastrous,” said Alok Shukla, convener of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, which works for tribal rights in Surguja region.
