Attending an anti-mining protest in Chhattisagrh’s Sarguja, State Congress president Deepak Baij on Sunday said atrocities on tribals are being committed under a tribal Chief Minister in the State.
With Lok Sabha election on the horizon, a mining-related deforestation exercise in Hasdeo forests last month has reignited protests and triggered a debate between the BJP, which recently assumed power, and the Congress over who should be held responsible. In Hariharpur villlage in Surguja, the protest site on Sunday, an indefinite sit-in has been going on for over two years now.
“A tribal amongst us is in power in Chhattisgarh, but regrettably, it is during the tenure of the tribal Chief Minister that most atrocities have been committed on tribals,” said Mr. Baij, referring to CM Vishnu Deo Sai.
Extending his party’s support to the protests, Mr. Baij drew parallels between coal mining in the northern tribal belt of Sarguja and iron ore mining in the southern tribal belt of Bastar, where he hails from. He added that on the one hand there was the “Hasdeo” (forest) and on the other, there was “Vishnu Deo” and that his party would take these protests from the streets to the Assembly.
The protest saw participation by Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA), Hasdeo Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, Chhattisgarh Kranti Sena and Johar Chhattisgarh party among others. The key demand of the anti-mining protesters include cancellation of Parsa coal block and a commitment from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that it would not touch an area of 2,000 sq. km declared as Lemru forest reserve by the previous Congress government.
Alok Shukla of the CBA said that they have also been asking for a probe on the three “forged grama sabha resolutions” which the government had not initiated despite a letter by a former Governor of Chhattisgarh.
“Due to this, officially, 2.50 lakh trees will be cut in near future and unofficially this number could be 3-4 lakh. The environmental impact of this will be irreversible as per the Wildlife Institute of India [WII],” said Mr. Shukla.
Elaborating on the impact of mining, he said that due to deforestation, the water levels in Hasdeo river and Hasdeo Bango Mini Mata dam would deplete, which in turn would have a cascading effect elsewhere too.
“The water from the dam irrigates over 4 lakh hectares of land. Further, the tree felling will affect wildlife and endangered species. Further, elephant-human conflict will worsen,” Mr. Shukla added.
When felling of trees for mining in Parsa East Kete Basan (PEKB) Phase II project was under way last month, the Assembly was in session and the Congress had raised the issue there, but Mr. Sai retorted that it was under the previous Congress government [2018-23] that the permissions were issued.
