Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi, July 8: The Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh today refused to grant clearance to the Mahan coal block in the Singrauli fields in Madhya Pradesh for two proposed private power plants, but passed on the final decision to a group of ministers examining coal blocks in “no-go” areas.

In a statement on his ministry’s website, Ramesh said an alternative source of coal should be found for the proposed power plants and released correspondence indicating how companies pursuing the project had approached the Prime Minister’s Office to seek expeditious clearance.

The Union coal ministry had in April 2006 allocated the Mahan coal block in Sidhi district for a 1200MW power plant proposed by Essar Power and a 650MW plant by Hindalco Industries. The coal block had received environmental clearance in December 2008, but has been awaiting forest clearance for diversion of 1,182 hectares of forest land.

Ramesh said he is “unable to agree” to consider clearance for the Mahan coal block. He said the coal block would destroy good natural forest cover, interfere with wildlife habitats, and allowing it would “open the doors” for other coal blocks leading to a fragmentation of rich forest cover. However, Ramesh said, he is submitting the proposal to the GoM on coal mining in “no-go areas” with a recommendation that an alternative source of coal be provided for the two power plants.

The environment ministry itself has suggested the Sohagpur coalfield in the neighbouring Shahdol district as an alternative source of coal.

Correspondence released by Ramesh suggests that the chairperson of the Essar Group, Shashi Ruia, had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in March 2010 stating that “65 per cent” of work on the power plants had been completed and seeking expeditious forest clearance. The correspondence also suggests the companies had approached the finance minister in January this year asking for a quick decision on the Mahan coal block.

Ramesh today conceded that substantial investments of about Rs 3,600 crore appear to have already been made in the power plants linked to the Mahan coal block. But, he said, this leaves aside the question why the plants had started in the first place without forest clearances. “Fait accompli has become far too common in environmental and forest clearances,” Ramesh said.

Ramesh also said that a sub-committee of the forest advisory committee (FAC), which had visited the Mahan coal block area, had found that the quality of the forest and tree cover there is “much higher than that being claimed by Essar/Hindalco and the state government”.

He said he had asked the companies to submit alternate mining plans to reduce the diversion of forests, and Essar had come up with a plan that will lead to a total saving of 214 hectares of good quality forest area — about 18 per cent of the mining area.

But Ramesh has pointed out that by Essar’s own admission, the Mahan coal block would meet coal requirements of the two 600MW units for only 14 years, and there is no “coal linkage” for the balance life which could extend for another 10 to 15 years. “I am not entirely clear why such a good quality forest area should be broken up for such a partial requirement,” he said.

The FAC sub-committee has also pointed out that the Mahan coal block is located in the catchment area of the Rihand reservoir and that there will be a high probability of excessive siltation because of denudation of the slopes and hills when they are mined for coal.