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Misplaced activism undermining development: The Hasdeo story
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SME Times News Bureau | 21 May, 2022
What does Parsa in Hasdeo, Chhattisgarh, have in common with the
northwest German village of Lutzerath or Brasilia in Brazil? They are
hubs for protests against coal mining, with well-funded activists taking
the forefront citing lack of protection for indigenous reserves.
In Chhatisgarh, the 'adivasis' (tribals) in Hasdeo have been
resisting the destruction of their lands because of the coal mines in
which Rajasthan government's owned power company, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut
Utpadan Nigam Limited, has invested heavily for commissioning of 4,400
MW of thermal power stations.
They are supposed to source coal
from its three Parsa East-Kanta Basan (PEKB), Parsa and Kente Extension
Coal Blocks with annual production of close to 30 million tonnes.
However,
it has been able to produce only half of it from the first phase of
PEKB Block while both Parsa and Kente Extension coal blocks have failed
to take off, courtesy the protests.
Meanwhile, in Brazil,
indigenous groups have held many protests to pressure lawmakers into
strengthening protection for indigenous reserves and limit illegal
activity by miners and ranchers encroaching on their territory.
In
Germany, protestors in L�tzerath are protesting the planned expansion
of a nearby coal mine as they believe that the village has long been
doomed to disappear to allow the gigantic Garzweiler open-pit lignite
mine to expand further.
But Parsa's case differs from Brazil and
Germany. The vast majority of Brazil's electricity is produced by hydro
power with just 3 per cent coming from coal, some of which is imported.
Germany,
on the other hand, is planning to abandon coal by 2030 as part of the
transition away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner energy sources.
In
India, the major production of electricity is achieved through coal,
which is around 75 per cent of the total power generation. India's per
capita electricity consumption is half of Brazil, one-fourth of China
and sixth of Russia among BRIC nations.
India has the fifth largest coal reserves in the world and it is the most affordable fuel for the developing nation.
Also,
unlike Brazil, Parsa's units are not illegal. The five petitions filed
by protestors against the coal mines in Parsa at the Chhattisgarh High
Court have been rejected.
But both the mines are still facing
the heat of the protests, making the financial condition of hundreds of
families, who willingly offered their land for the critical mine project
a couple of years ago, worse.
Locals are neither able to carry
on their agriculture activities nor are there any job prospects due to
delayed mining projects. They are compelled to live on the money they
received as compensation for their land.
Besides, thousands of
direct and indirect jobs in the underdeveloped region, Rajasthan power
utility is estimated to pay nearly Rs 2,000 crore to the Chhattisgarh
government in terms of various taxes and royalties. Hence, it is
critical for the financially weak state-owned power utilities to have
captive coal blocks since there are unable to afford expensive imported
coal.
But what the activists behind this smear campaign, who the
locals believe are sponsored, don't understand is that Rajasthan will
plunge into severe power crisis if it fails to kickstart coal production
from the second phase of PEKB Block where it is not possible to recover
coal anymore from the first phase. Also, coal production from Parsa and
Kente Extension blocks is critical for Rajasthan's energy security in
the future.
A senior official from Ventura Securities last week
said steep electricity prices will not only affect households but also
have an impact on the overall economy as well. Especially at a time,
when the country is trying to be self-sufficient and self-reliant and is
in the process of becoming a stiff competitor to international market
giants like China.
As far as environmental hazards go, to say
that the economic landscape for coal mining has changed dramatically in
the past two decades won't be incorrect.
According to a report
by Coal Ministry in 2021, the government has put major thrust on
sustainable development in coal mining and is taking multi-pronged
action on both environmental and social fronts.
The Coal
Ministry has moved forward with a comprehensive sustainable development
plan and has initiated its speedy implementation.
Primary focus
is on making immediate social impact through Out of Box measures,
besides regular environmental monitoring and mitigation during mining
operation.
PEKB, Parsa and Kente Extension blocks will be
operated by long-term agreement for Mine Development and Operations
(MDO) instead of conventional and inefficient short-term contracts for
coal excavation.
In the case of MDO model, the mine developer
and operator must ensure "responsible mining" practices. This compels
mining companies to address the interests of all the stakeholders,
including the local community and the government.
According to
Indian legal and regulatory frameworks, the lease holder of the coal
mine must compensate for tree felling by even higher afforestation. Both
PEKB Block's second phase and Parsa blocks have received all the
approvals from the local communities, state and Central government
authorities.
Rajasthan is facing hurdles on account of
misinformation spread by a handful of professional activists targeting
the development of its coal blocks.
The debaters are arguing
that Rajasthan's coal blocks will affect the biodiversity of Hasdeo
forests by undermining Rajasthan's impressive records in afforestation.
Rajasthan
power utility has planted more than eight lakh trees to compensate for
the impact on the local ecology to make PEKB Block the model mine in the
country.
Rajasthan's power utility is one of the first mining
lease holders to deploy heavy duty tree transplanters to relocate more
than 9,000 trees instead of cutting them down. Further, Chhattisgarh's
Forest Department has already planted more than 60 lakh trees.
In
absence of desired support from the locals of the mining areas,
resourceful activists have launched big budget social media campaigns.
In April 2022, project-affected people came together in large numbers to
urge the Chhattisgarh government to allow Rajasthan for its mining
operations. However, the situation is still far from desirable.
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