Centre to provide alternate blocks to Chhattisgarh coalfield

The Centre is working out modalities to provide alternate coal blocks to entrepreneurs in lieu of licenses given to them in the Hasdeo-Arnand coalfield in Chhattisgarh, a "no-go" zone for mining activities.

"A committee under the chairmanship of Member (Energy) of the Planning Commission is working to establish such a mechanism," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told PTI.

Sources said Ramesh has told Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh that diversion of forest land for opencast coal mining at Tara Coal Block in Hasdeo-Arand field was not advisable given the large number of species, trees and unfragmented landscape and wildlife habitat in the region.

"The project for diversion of 2301.260 hectares of forest land for opencast mining was examined by the Forest Advisory Committee which has noted that the proposed zone (for diversion) is part of a large and compact forest block very rich in flora and fauna," Ramesh said recently in a letter to Singh.

He was responding to Singh's request in this regard made in June.

Ramesh said, "The committee, therefore, decided that the whole forest block should be kept intact to derive environmental benefits and to use it as a pristine area rather than open it up for mining."

The Environment Minister maintained that the Planning Commission committee would soon find a way to provide alternative coal blocks to the entrepreneurs given mining license in the said coalfield to other coalfields which are in "go-zones".

Companies like Prakash Industries, Hindustan Zinc, Ultratech and Chhattisgarh Captive Coal Mining were allocated captive blocks between 2003 and 2007 in the Hasdeo-Arand coal field which is said to have over 5 billion tonnes of coal reserves to support huge thermal power generation capacity.

However, Ramesh pointed out that as per a joint survey conducted by the Coal Ministry and Environment Ministry, "a large number of coal blocks still lie in the forest areas which are not so rich and, therefore, could be considered for coal mining."

The survey was done in nine major coal mining areas and it concluded that almost 35 per cent of the area under study were not viable for mining activities and fit case for "no-go" zones.

The nine coal fields were North Karanpura and West Bokaro (Jharkhand), IB Valley (Orissa and Chhattisgarh) Singaurali (Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh), Talcher (Orissa), Wardha (Maharashtra), Mandirgarh and Hasdeo-Arand (Chhattisgarh) and Shoagpur (Chhattisgarh and MP).