Adani’s plans for huge new coal mines in India’s Hasdeo forests have created a political stoush involving three governments. One state government has asked the national government to revoke mining permits. Another wants the coal. And the national government says the decision to destroy the forests has already been made. In the midst of all this is Rahul Gandhi, one of India’s most prominent politicians.
Governor Ganeshi Lal assured the Adivasis that he would write to the Odisha Chief Minister recommending that they be rehabilitated and resettled as per law, no further projects are taken up in the area, and no penal action is initiated against them until then.
In the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, billions of tonnes of coal lie beneath the ancestral forested lands of the Gond people. This is elephant habitat. In June, AdaniWatch reported on the state government’s proposal to establish a large elephant reserve in the area. The central government of Narendra Modi, however, is seeking to enable an expansion of coal mines run by the Adani Group.
