The Chhattisgarh Government has granted the final approval of non-forestry use of land and coal mining for Parsa Opencast Coal Mining project, which falls in Surajpur and Surguja districts of Chhattisgarh, as per reports.
The approval by the Chhattisgarh government for 841.538 hectare forest land for the Parsa Mining Project was granted on April 6. Chhattisgarh’s Forest and Climate Change Department granted approval for mining with 15 conditions, which are mentioned in the approval order, add reports.
Activists claimed that around 700 people will be displaced and around 841 hectares dense forest will be destroyed due to the Parsa mining project.
The Parsa coal block has been allocated to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RRVUNL). Last year, the biodiversity study conducted by ICFRE in consultation with Wildlife Institute of India, in Hasdeo Arand Coalfield, to assess the floral and faunal biodiversity of coalfield comprising 23 coal blocks recommended that total 14 coalfields may not be recommended for mining keeping in view of conserving the relatively dense moist-dry deciduous sal dominated forest tracts.