Protests in Hasdeo Aranya | 10 years with a coal mine for a backyard Premium

For more than a year now, locals, largely from the Gond tribe, in Hariharpur, Ghatbarra, and Fattepur villages in Chhattisgarh’s northern region, have been holding a sit-in against mining by the Adani Enterprises Limited over the past decade in Parsa East and Kente Basan coal blocks in Hasdeo Aranya area.

In Chhattisgarh’s harsh dry summer of 2016, Mohar Sai, who has lived all his 43 years in Hariharpur village in Salhi panchayat of Surguja district, received an offer from “the company”. The job, which was to pay ₹9,000 every month, entailed keeping count of coal sites where blasting was being carried out. “The company” is Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), which has been mining over the past decade in Parsa East and Kente Basan coal blocks, quite literally, in Mr. Sai’s backyard.

For more than a year now, locals, largely from the Gond tribe, in Hariharpur, Ghatbarra, and Fattepur villages, have been holding a sit-in at the entrance to Hariharpur against mining.

In March 2022, the Chhattisgarh government had granted expansion approval for the project to open the Parsa Coal Block, which would dig under Hariharpur. Here, about 2 lakh trees have been marked for felling. The mines will expand into Fattepur and Ghatbarra.

In 2007, the Parsa Kente Collieries Limited (PKCL) was formed, in a joint venture between AEL (74%) and Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RRVUNL: 26%). The following year, Adani Mining Private Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of AEL) was given the sub-contract of mine development and operations. Work began in 2013-14, with the contract extending for 30 years, permitting the operation to extract and supply 15 million tonnes per annum.

The villages lie in a crescent, between the coal mines on one side and the Hasdeo forest on the other. “Mining will lead to the loss of about 8 lakh trees of the Sal forests in Hasdeo Aranya, which will end up affecting the catchment of the Hasdeo river,” says Alok Shukla, Chhattisgarh-based environmental activist who has been protesting against mining for over a decade now. The Adani Group did not respond to  The Hindu’s  queries.

Mr. Sai accepted the job with “the company” and today earns ₹15,000 a month, moving ‘up’ from working in the mines to an office job. He originally farmed his 6-7 acres and collected forest produce from 2-3 acres for which he held individual forest rights (IFR), granted under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. This was enough to sustain his family.

In the year that he was offered the job, he also realised that the mine had consumed his forest land. “I was never notified by the district authorities that my FRA  patta was being cancelled or stayed or withdrawn,” Mr. Sai says, adding that he felt it was better to settle for whatever money the company was paying for the rest of the land: ₹6 lakh. Despite his discontent, Mr. Sai is scared for his job and does not participate in the strike.