July 08, 2011 / 20:02 IST
The Environment Ministry today withheld clearance to the Mahan coal block in Madhya Pradesh that is intended to fuel power plants of Essar and Hindalco and referred the matter to a Group of Ministers (GoM).
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has suggested the Sohagpur coalfield in Shahdol district as an alternative coal linkage for the power plants of the two leading corporates.
"I am not entirely clear why such a good quality forest area should be broken up for such a partial requirement," Ramesh said pointing out that Essar has itself said that the Mahan coal block would meet requirements for two 600 MW units for 14 years only.
He also pointed out that the Mahan coal was located in catchment area of the Rihand Reservoir and that there is a high degree of probability of excessive siltation due to denudation of the slopes and hills when they are mined for coal.
"The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) sub-committee found that the quality of the forest and tree cover is much higher than that is being claimed by Essar/Hindalco and the state government," he said.
"In this backdrop, I am unable to agree to consider the Mahan coal-block for Stage-I clearance. However, keeping with the proposal I had made myself to the GoM on April 7, to resolve issues related to coal blocks in 'no-go' areas, the Mahan coal-block is therefore, being submitted to the GoM for its consideration with a recommendation that an alternative coal linkage be provided for the two power plants," Ramesh said in the order.
The block, located in Singrauli district, was jointly allocated to Essar and Hindalco for their thermal power plant. If the block is cleared, it will provide coal to Essar Power's 1,200 MW plant and Hindalco's 650 MW facility in Madhya Pradesh.
The coal block was allocated to Essar and Hindalco on April 12, 2006 for which environment clearance was given on December 23, 2008 but declared a no-go zone in January 2010. The Forest Advisory Committee has considered the proposal four times but it could not arrive at a final decision "given the complexity of the issues involved".
"Implicit in the recommendation of the FAC sub-committee to withhold permission for forest clearance is the need to carry out more detailed environmental impact assessment studies," Ramesh said.
He said he had proposed a compromise formula to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the no-go zone issue by which his Ministry would consider clearing a coal block even if it is a no-go zone area if it is meant for power project, which is over 60-70% complete.
"Substantial investment to the tune of about Rs 3,600 crore appear to have already been made in power plants linked with the Mahan coal-block," he said adding this leaves aside the question of why the plants were started in the first place when the forests clearances had not been obtained.
"Fait accompli has become far too common in environmental and forest clearances," he said adding he had earlier communicated to the Prime Minister why his Ministry could not give forest clearance for the mining.
