Tara coal block auction will devastate Hasdeo forests: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

Representational image only. File Photo Credit: Special Arrangement The Congress on Thursday (September 10, 2026) accused the Narendra Modi government of supporting “ecocide” by pushing ahead with the auction of the Tara coal block in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo-Aranya region, despite repeated demands from local communities to protect the region’s dense forests.“The auction of the block in the biodiversity-rich Hasdeo-Aranya ecosystem would entail the destruction of more than 4,000 acres of dense forest and the clear-felling of more than 10 lakh trees,” Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.“The Tara coal block covers an area of about 5,000 acres, of which over 4,000 acres is dense forest,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding, “No amount of compensatory afforestation, a bogus idea to begin with, can ever make up for the wanton destruction of such a huge natural forest area.”“Mining in Tara block — now renamed Tara (Revised), which makes no significant difference — is yet another example of an ecocide being executed with the full support of the Prime Minister himself,” Mr. Ramesh said.Changed policyThe Congress leader said the auction was particularly contentious because the Chhattisgarh Assembly had unanimously resolved in July 2022 that no further coal blocks should be allocated or auctioned in Hasdeo-Aranya. The State government subsequently told the Supreme Court in an affidavit in July 2023 that there was no need to allocate or develop any new mines in the region.“The Union Coal Ministry had also denotified 40 coal blocks, including Tara, from the auction process, in October 2023,” Mr. Ramesh said. In a post on X, he shared a June 2023 letter from the Chhattisgarh government to the Union Coal Ministry, seeking the exclusion of nine coal blocks, including Tara, from the auction.Adani owns winning bidderThe winning bidder for the Tara block, according to Mr. Ramesh, is CG Syn-Gas and Chemicals Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mundra Synenergy Limited, which is in turn wholly owned by Adani Enterprises Limited.For nearly 15 years, Adivasis and other local communities have opposed mining in Hasdeo-Aranya, through Gram Sabha resolutions, public campaigns, sit-ins, and protest marches, including protests in Raipur, he said.The Congress also warned of the impact of mining on the Lemru Elephant Reserve. Mr. Ramesh said mining around the reserve would severely disrupt the movement corridor of elephants, while putting several other species, including critically endangered ones, at further risk. Published - September 10, 2026 07:29 pm IST