Citing environmental concerns and damage to eco-sensitive zones due to coal extraction, Thackeray writes to the Union coals and mines Minister to halt the auction, an official statement said.
Mumbai, August 12: Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, in his letter to Union coal and mines Minister Pralhad Joshi, seeked his intervention in halting the auction of Marki-Mangli-II coal block located in eco-sensitive zone, citing environmental concerns and highlighting the potential environmental damage due to coal extraction at the site, according to an official statement.
Located in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) and Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Maharashtra, the proposed coal block could cause irreparable losses to the entire ecosystem and the wildlife depending on it, the state minister said while urging Joshi to drop the auction of the mine, adding that about 250 hectares of the proposed mining area, accounting for almost 50 percent of the project, is on the reserve forest land in Mukutban Range of Yavatmal district, the statement said.
Thackeray noted that a segment of the proposed coal block falls under the area of approved Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP) of Tadoba, which could lose its natural habitat.
The State minister stressed that the thriving tigers in the region will not only lose their natural habitat, but would have to face massive level of disturbance due to the mining activities and increased presence of humans in the region, according to the statement.
He observed that according to news reports, the Union Environment Ministry in 2015 had mentioned the proposed mine to be in ” inviolate areas”, the 2018 communication from the ministry does not mention so, the statement said.
