Greenpeace India expressed hopes on Tuesday that the central government would draft a comprehensive plan to protect wildlife and dense forests from mining, while auctioning new blocks in future, after the recent Supreme Court decision to cancel coal blocks across several states.
"We hope that the new government at the Centre will do the right things keeping in mind the wellbeing of wildlife and environment," Greenpeace India's campaigner Nandikesh Shivalingam said here today at a press conference, after he was asked about what environmental activists expect from the Narendra Modi-led NDA government to save bio-diversity.
The Supreme Court's recent ruling cancelling licences of 214 coal blocks terming these allocations "illegal" was heartening to activists and their long fight to save Indian forests, Shivalingam said. "The government has got yet another opportunity to correct wrongs. We now urge the Centre and state governments to avoid auctioning within forests and set up an independent committee to study elephant movement in the state to manage human-wildlife conflict more effectively," he said.
He was speaking after Greenpeace India released its report 'Elephant in the Room' here today at the Raipur Press Club, about human-elephant conflict in four forest divisions of Chhattisgarh, namely South Sarguja, Katghora, Korba and Dharamjaigarh in which two coal fields, Hasdeo Arand and Mandraigarh are located.
Briefing reporters about the study, Greenpeace India's senior media officer Nitya Kaushik said, "The study takes an inclusive look at current issues within these four forest divisions where coal mining is proposed. Mining in the area has led to an alarming increase in human-elephant conflicts, which are known to cause damage to human life and property as well."
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