IT is a glaring contradiction of our times that the Modi government, while loudly promoting the BJP’s 'One Tree for Mother' campaign with chants of 'Jai Shri Ram,' is simultaneously advancing plans to transfer the Hasdeo forest to Adani. In disregard of established regulations, an environmental hearing is scheduled for August 2nd to approve the transfer of the Kete Extension coal block to Adani, a project expected to lead to the destruction of over 800,000 trees. It's unlikely that even the BJP workers could plant that many trees across the entire state.

Seven months ago, both Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan were governed by Congress. During that period, the Rajasthan government was actively pursuing the acquisition of Hasdeo's forests for Adani, while the chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, also supported the deforestation efforts in Hasdeo. However, the strong opposition from the local tribal communities, people of Chhattisgarh, and global environmental advocates forced a halt to the logging. In response to the state-backed deforestation, thousands of people from Chhattisgarh united to organise the 'March to Hasdeo.' Even the then opposition party, BJP, voiced its opposition to the felling.

Today, both Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are under BJP governance. The BJP government in Rajasthan is pushing to transfer the Hasdeo forest to Adani, while the BJP government in Chhattisgarh is rolling out the red carpet for him. Meanwhile, the opposition Congress is putting on a show of resistance. Regardless of whether it’s Congress or BJP in power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, Adani’s interests remain unaffected.

Adani already operates two coal mines in the Hasdeo region of Chhattisgarh-Parsa and Parsa East Kete Basan (PEKB)-which together cover approximately 10,000 acres. Known as the lungs of central India, the Hasdeo forests are vital for their biodiversity, environmental significance, and socio-economic value to the local tribal communities. The damage inflicted on the region's ecological balance and the suffering endured by these communities due to these mines are substantial. Despite the promises made to the tribal communities at the outset of these projects, none have been fulfilled.

Adani now seeks approval for a third mine, covering over 4,400 acres, under the guise of mine expansion. If granted, this will lead to the destruction of more than 800,000 trees, some of which have stood for centuries, across 4,350 acres of dense forest. Additionally, this expansion will threaten the displacement and loss of livelihood for dozens of villages in the area.

ILLEGAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEARING

The environmental hearing for the Kete Extension mine is illegal because it is based on an outdated environmental impact assessment released in March 2021. According to ministry of environment regulations, this report is too old to serve as the basis for a public hearing. If the Environment Protection Board of Chhattisgarh is proceeding with the hearing despite this, it raises serious questions about the source of its authorisation for such an unlawful action.

Even setting aside the issues with the Environment Board, there are no valid factors to justify this public hearing. Both the state forest department and the mineral resources department have opposed this mining project and objected to the land acquisition process for its expansion. The project is within a 10 km radius of the Lemru Elephant Reserve, which was officially designated in the Chhattisgarh Gazette on October 22, 2021 and it is now a 'no-go area'. The Wildlife Institute of India has reported that advancing any mining project in Hasdeo would have an 'irreversible' impact on the area's environment and ecology, increasing human-elephant conflicts due to disruption of the elephant corridor. Additionally, the 10,000 sq km catchment area of the Hasdeo River would be affected, endangering various water sources and the Bango Dam. This would threaten the water supply for agriculture and industry, impacting the livelihoods and survival of 5 million people.

Given these concerns, the Chhattisgarh legislative assembly unanimously passed a resolution on July 26, 2022, to cancel all proposed coal mines in Hasdeo Aranya. Additionally, the Chhattisgarh state government has filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court stating that the Parsa East Kete Basan mine can fulfill the needs of the Rajasthan government for the next twenty years. Despite this, the BJP government is proceeding with the public hearing, disregarding both the Legislative Assembly's resolution and the Supreme Court affidavit, to which it remains constitutionally bound.

STORY OF ADANI LOOT

According to the Central Electricity Authority, Rajasthan had a demand of 18,128 MW of electricity in January 2024. The state’s total power generation capacity stands at 40,209 MW, including 26,815 MW from solar energy. The capacity of coal-based power plants in Rajasthan is only 9,200 MW. The Rajasthan government has set an ambitious target to achieve complete self-sufficiency in electricity by generating 100,000 MW solely from solar energy by 2030, with plans to sell any excess power to other states. The central government reports that progress is being made toward this goal. Given these facts, the affidavit provided by the previous Congress government to the Supreme Court – stating that the Parsa East Kete Basan mine can meet Rajasthan’s needs for the next twenty years – appears credible. So why is the Rajasthan government insisting on opening another coal mine?

This story ends with Adani reaping the benefits of coal. The key provision in the contract through which the Rajasthan government has awarded coal mining to Adani stipulates that Rajasthan will only accept coal with a calorific value of 4,000 calories per kilogram or higher and that Adani will handle and dispose of any lower-quality coal. This contract conceals a major scam: the average quality of coal used in government and private power plants in Chhattisgarh and elsewhere in the country is typically around 3,400 calories per kilogram. In fact, private industries in Chhattisgarh accept coal with a quality as low as 2,200 calories from SECL.

In 2022, the Railways disclosed to RTI activist DK Soni that Adani had transported 2.958 million tonnes of rejected coal from the Parsa Kete mines in 2021, accounting for 26.6 per cent of the total coal transported by rail. This coal, provided to Adani for free, is being used to power his plants and sold to private industries. The details of Adani's coal theft were prominently featured on the front page of the state's renowned evening daily, Chhattisgarh, on December 22, 2022.

The annual production capacity of the Parsa Kete mines is 1.5 million tonnes. If we take the figure of rejected coal as 26.6 per cent of this, the total rejected coal amounts to about 4 million tonnes. Adani uses 60 per cent of this rejected coal for his power plants. Given that the current market price for non-imported coal is Rs 7,000 per tonne, the value of the rejected coal is Rs 28 billion. This figure represents just the year 2021; Adani has been mining since 2013. Over the past decade, in collusion with pro-corporate governments at both the centre and state levels, Adani has exploited 40 million tonnes of coal, worth Rs 280 billion, from just this one mine in Chhattisgarh. Although mining at the PEKB mine was scheduled to continue until 2028, Adani’s insatiable greed led to the complete excavation of the mine by 2022, and he is now seeking an extension for a third mine.

It’s also notable that Coal India sells its coal at Rs 3,405 per tonne, while the Rajasthan government purchases coal from Adani at Rs 3,915 per tonne – a difference of Rs 510 per tonne. In 2021 alone, the Rajasthan government bought 8.163 million tonnes of coal from Adani, resulting in an additional profit of Rs 416.28 crore for Adani. Over the past decade, this has cost Rajasthan approximately Rs 4,163 crore, contributing significantly to higher electricity costs for the state.

Adani’s coal exploitation in Chhattisgarh is just one example of widespread corporate resource plundering across the state, from Bastar to Surguja. Only a united public effort can curb this exploitation. On August 2, tribal communities from the region will vigorously oppose the environmental hearing for the Kete Extension mine. Additionally, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha has announced a public convention this month under the banner ‘Adani - Chhattisgarh Chhodo’ (Adani - leave Chhattisgarh) to address these issues.