Ashwanth Vidhya, Mumbai Uncensored, 28th June 2021:
Essel Mining & Industries Private Limited, owned by the Aditya Birla Group, won the tender for the Bunder Diamond Block Project approved by the government of Madhya Pradesh in December 2019 with exclusive mining rights through a 50-year government lease. The project was first handled by a large Australian mining company called Rio Tinto that exited the project after they failed to obtain clearances and permissions required for the Mine. This project requires around 382 hectares of protected forest land from the Buxwaha forest. According to the forest clearance report released, 215875 trees will be cut.
According to the website of the company, they plan on developing a processing plan with the investment of almost 2500 crores and claim that it has the potential to become one of the largest mines in Asia. They plan on beginning the development of the mine and the construction of the processing plant by the end of Fiscal Year 2022 post obtaining the required clearances.
The mining project has faced opposition from environmentalists because of the environmental degradation and deforestation associated with the project and some sections of the society who argue that there will be loss of livelihood of the tribals who are associated with the forests. But as per the report submitted by the Chief Forest Conservator of Chhatarpur, where the proposed area lies, no individual is dependent on the piece of land allotted for the project. Those supporting the project argue that it will increase the revenue of the state government and will provide local employment, a point also mentioned in the report.
Environmentalists protesting the move were denied permission to protest at the Chhatarpur District Headquarters. The move to protest followed the online campaign on June 6, The World Environment Day and the move of some groups to hug the trees in the Buxwaha Forest, as a reference to the Chipko Movement.
