The project, which is yet to start, is spread over 1,700 hectare land near TATR to extract coal for a power plant of the Adani Mining company coming up in adjoining Gondia district.
The principal chief conservator of forest (Wildlife), B Majumdar, has raised serious objections to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report and wildlife conservation plan submitted by the Adani Mining Private for its captive mining project at Lohara, near the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur district.
The project has been savaged by environmentalists in the region, who want it scrapped saying it will pose a grave threat to the wildlife, particularly tigers, as the project is to be carried out on land used by the tiger. The project, which is yet to start, is spread 1,700 hectare land near TATR to extract coal for a power plant of the company coming up in the adjoining Gondia district.
Senior forest officials held a meeting with Sanjeev Doke, general manager, Adani Mining Private Limited, and Jayant Kulkarni of Envirosearch, a Pune based non-governmental organisation (NGO) that prepared the EIA on behalf of the company.
In a letter to the company, Majumdar has raised four major concerns regarding the EIA.
The are: the EIA is not comprehensive enough and has not followed the standard methods correctly; it does not address the effect of the project on the intense man-animal conflict in the region around TATR; it has not carried out a detailed study of the real impact of the project on the existing wildlife corridor, and; considering the fact that it destroys the prime flora and fauna of the region, it can’t offer anything concrete on how it will restore the land to its original status without a detailed study of existing biodiversity being carried out.
Disputing the charges, Kulkarni said his NGO had done its job properly and thoroughly. “No one can point out any lacunae in the EIA and we challenge anyone who can,” he said.
He added that suggestions by the forest department will be considered for any possible improvement in the report. Sanjeev Doke could not be reached for his comments.
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