The Guguldoh mining block in Ramtek is spread over an area of 105 hectares, out of which 99.50 hectares is a dense mixed forest and hilly area with a rich presence of flora and fauna. Although the Forest Department report claims that 37,000 trees will be cut for the project, the number could be more than 1 lakh. On Sunday, a visit to the Guguldoh site resulted in live sightings of herbivorous tigers and pugmarks of an adult tiger at the bottom of Lake Manegaon.
Raipur-based company Shanti GD Ispat & Power Limited, which has bagged the project, has now sought Environment Clearance (EC) for the project. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has scheduled a public hearing at the mining site on July 10.
The RTI information given to Swachha Association chief Anasuya Kale-Chhabrani has several inaccuracies. PCCF The (Wildlife) office says that the Guguldoh proposal was placed before the 19th SBWL meeting on September 21, 2022, but was postponed due to incompleteness. However, the official agenda of the 19th SBWL meeting, which is in possession of TOI, makes no mention of the Guguldoh proposal or the Durgapur extension coal mine in Chandrapur.
The RTI states that the PCCF (Wildlife) office received a proposal from the APCCF (Wildlife) office on September 16, 2022. The PCCF requested additional information on 19 September as the proposal was incomplete. Nevertheless it was kept before the meeting held on 21 September.
“If the mining proposal was incomplete, why was it placed before the meeting? The proceedings of the meeting were also illegal as the SBWL meeting was held without the constitution of the Board as per the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. All the expert members appointed by the Uddhav Thackeray government in the previous board were ruled out from the possibility of approval. for such harmful projects,” alleged Chhabrani.
While the PCCF (Wildlife) office shared the names of the SBWL members who were removed from the posts, it was shying away from sharing the notification on the appointment of new members. It also did not share the GR for appointment of Standing Committee of SBWL.
The reply to another RTI query reveals that the Deputy Director of Pench, Prabhu Nath shukla While submitting Part III (Mandatory Compliance for the Project Proponent) it is mentioned that the proposed mining site is home to several endangered species including tiger. Shukla visited the site on February 22, 2022.
Shukla’s reply said, “The site falls in the corridor identified by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) connecting Pench-NNTR. Therefore, it is desirable to obtain technical opinion of WII (Dehradun) before sanctioning the project. ,
RTI information shows that Nagpur regional authorities and senior officers like APCCF and PCCF (Wildlife) ignored Shukla’s comments and chose to go with the report submitted by Pench ACF Atul Deokar, who was Shukla’s junior and responsible for the mitigation measures. The accompanying project was recommended. Deokar’s report was based on a site visit on December 18, 2021.
Even though the views of the WII were recommended, the RTI reveals that the wildlife mitigation plan for the mining project was prepared by the Chandrapur Forest Academy, which does not even have the mandate or experience to decide on mitigation measures.
The wildlife mitigation plan suggests the development of artificial bird nests as 37,000 trees are to be cut and the forest area will be deforested and habitat disturbed.
“Forest officials admit that the loss is going to be huge but still they recommended the project. , , Even the expert forest department will not be able to recreate the lost nature in Gugguldoh,” says Chhabrani.
The RTI states that the forest officials have suggested fencing of the mining area to avoid conflicts. “This will block the corridor. If this is the solution then the forest department should do fencing first. Tadoba Andhari So that man-animal conflict can be avoided in the district,” says green activist Shrikant Deshpande.