Jairam Ramesh accuses Centre of ‘false claims’ over Adani’s Dhirauli coal mine clearance

Congress senior leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday accused the Union Environment Ministry of making “false claims” while clearing Adani Group’s Dhirauli coal mining project in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh, alleging blatant irregularities in the approval process and violations of tribal rights.

Ramesh, in a post on X, drew attention to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change’s response to his objections raised on September 12.

The Ministry had asserted that the mining land did not fall under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution and that all legal processes under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) had been duly completed.

Calling the first claim “false,” Ramesh cited a parliamentary reply given on August 9, 2023, when the then Union Coal Minister “clearly and categorically” stated in the Lok Sabha that the Dhirauli project indeed fell in an area protected under the Fifth Schedule.

On the second claim, Ramesh argued that the FRA covers not only individual forest rights but also community forest resource rights and habitat rights of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs). He pointed out that the Dhirauli project entails diversion of about 3,500 acres of forest land across five villages, with at least three neighbouring villages also dependent on the same forest area.

“All the three types of tribal rights in these eight villages have to be settled first,” he said.

He further highlighted contradictions in official records, noting that while the District Collector in March 2022 certified that rights under the FRA had been identified and safeguarded, the Madhya Pradesh government’s own data showed that “no community rights or habitat rights in the entire district of Singrauli have been recognised till now.”

The remarks come days after Adani Power announced it had received formal approval from the Union Coal Ministry to begin mining at the Dhirauli block through its subsidiary, Mahan Energen Ltd. The company hailed the clearance as a “major step” towards consolidating its fuel security and power sector presence.