Ashok Gehlot asks Bhupesh Baghel to give land in PEKB block in Chhattisgarh

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wrote a letter to Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel asking him to hand over forest land in Chhattisgarh for generating power

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday wrote a letter to Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, asking him to make available 91.21 hectares of forest land in Chhattisgarh for generating power in Rajasthan.

In the letter, Gehlot said Baghel to make available the forest land from the second phase of the Parsa (East) and Kete Basan (PEKB) coal block in Chhattisgarh.

The letter stated that permissions for stage-wise mining of 1,136 hectares of forest land from the second phase of PEKB have been received. However, the Chhattisgarh government is yet to hand over the remaining 91.21 hectares of forest land — from the total mining quota of 134.84 hectares of forest land allocated for 2022-23 — to Rajasthan for mining purposes, according to a report in The Indian Express.

The letter added that 43.63 hectares of land had earlier been given to Rajasthan but mining activities have stopped because the coal deposits have almost been exhausted.

The letter said: "The Chhattisgarh government could not hand over the remaining 91.21 hectares of forest land for mining purposes. As a result, the daily supply of 8-9 coal rakes from this block has completely stopped. As a result of the end of supply, the generation of electricity by Rajasthan's thermal power plants is being seriously affected."

CM Gehlot said that the land should be handed over immediately, as it will take about two months to start mining activities, resulting in Rajasthan facing a coal crisis in the rabi season.