Chhattisgarh
Durgu and Kondal villages
,
Rasuli
,
Kanker
Published :
Oct 2016
|
Updated :
Environment Ministry Rejects Clearance for Rasuli Iron Ore Mines in Chhattisgarh
Reported by
Riddhi Pandey
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Edited by
Anupa Kujur
Households affected
3000
People affected
2016
Year started
220
Land area affected
Households affected
3000
People Affected
2016
Year started
220
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Mining
Reason/Cause of conflict
Iron Ore Mining
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Rural
Ended
Sector
Mining
Reason/Cause of conflict
Iron Ore Mining
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Rural
Ended
1
Summary

The residents of Rasuli village, in Kanker district's Durg Kondal tehsil, had long opposed the Rasuli Iron Ore Deposit Mining project. 
The state government awarded the lease for mining to Navbharat Fuse Company Limited in 2009. For the project, 220 hectares of reserved forestland were demarcated in compartment numbers 338(615) and 339 (616) in Khargaon forest, a protected area. 
On September 7, 2016, the Chhattisgarh Environment Protection Division organised a public hearing to attain consent at the Janpad panchayat office in Bhanupratappur. According to news reports, the residents accused the authorities of not providing them with prior information about the hearing and organising it in a venue located far from the affected village. 
Reportedly, the few villagers and local political leaders who did attend the meeting utilised the platform to voice their concerns about the impact the project would have on the forest resources, tree cover, biodiversity and soil and water quality in the area. They raised concerns over the effect of mining activities on their agriculture and other livelihood practices. Additionally, they demanded that the administration should reorganise the public hearing in the affected tribal village. Following the protests, Vipin Manjhi, an additional collector from Kanker, agreed to cancel and postpone the public hearing.
During a meeting held on December 20, 2017, the Forest Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) decided to recommend against the forest clearance for the Rasuli iron ore mine as the proposed mining site falls in the very dense area of the Bailadila mountain range. The committee also added that the felling of trees would adversely impact the environment in the region by affecting the water supply as the catchment area of the local drain is located there.
As per a notification issued on January 05, 2017, the MoEFCC had also recommended against granting approval to the project under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. According to the MoEFCC website, the environmental clearance proposal for the project was delisted on January 16, 2018.

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Complaint against procedural violations

Opposition against environmental degradation

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Common and Private

Forest

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Project scrapped

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Other Natural Resource extraction/dependence, Other environmental services, Grazing

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

3.5

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

Yes

When did it end?

January 2018

Why did the conflict end?

Project/scheme was cancelled or modified

According to the MoEFCC website, the environmental clearance proposal for the project was delisted on January 16, 2018.

4
Additional Information

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

Government of Chhattisgarh

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

No

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Navbharat Fuse Company Limited

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

No

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

5
Information on the use of criminal law

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Legal Supporting Documents

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Author
Reported by
Riddhi Pandey


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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Complaint against procedural violations

Opposition against environmental degradation

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Status of Project

Project scrapped

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Other Natural Resource extraction/dependence, Other environmental services, Grazing

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

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