Govt Approves 109-Hectare Forest Diversion for Coal Mine in WB

New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The central government has granted in-principle approval for the diversion of 109.459 hectares of protected forest land in the Durgapur Forest Division of West Bengal for the Gourangdih ABC Coal Mine project. This initiative includes the rehabilitation of 629 families, as per official documentation.

The decision was made during a meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Union Environment Ministry on July 30.

Operated by the West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Ltd (WBMDTCL), the Gourangdih ABC Coal Mine covers 356.575 hectares, which includes 109.459 hectares of forest land.

This forest area has a canopy density of 0.4, indicating that 40 percent of the land is shaded by plant leaves and branches. It contains around 5,200 trees, mainly Akashmoni, and serves as a habitat for wildlife such as the Indian jackal, Bengal fox, porcupine, rock python, spectacled cobra, and Russell's viper. The area does not fall within any national park, wildlife sanctuary, eco-sensitive zone, tiger reserve, or elephant corridor.

The committee has specified that all compensatory afforestation patches below 10 hectares must be fenced with chain-link and maintained for 20 years, with tall seedlings of at least 18 months to be planted.

They also stated that the approved wildlife conservation plan for the area must be implemented at the expense of the user agency, along with a soil and moisture conservation plan to address erosion risks.

The project includes the rehabilitation of 629 families from non-forest land within the lease area, and WBMDTCL is tasked with preparing a resettlement plan based on state guidelines.

The proposal was initially submitted in 2019 and underwent multiple rounds of scrutiny, revisions, and field visits.

The state government noted that there is no available non-forest land nearby for overburden dumping, making the utilization of non-mineralized forest land essential for this purpose. Overburden dumping involves disposing of waste like rock and soil generated during ore mining.

The mine lease area is located in a coal-bearing belt with operational and abandoned mines. The committee suggested efforts to minimize tree felling and recommended considering conveyor-based coal evacuation to decrease road pollution. However, the state found such a system financially unfeasible.

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