The Chhattisgarh government will hold public hearings in July in villages around the Kente Extension coal block as part of the process to grant environmental clearance to mining in the forested and biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Arand region, people aware of the matter said. The Centre granted terms of reference (TOR) to the project in January 2020 as one of the first steps for the clearance.
Public hearings offer an opportunity to the people to raise objections and make suggestions regarding large infrastructure projects in their areas. They are the third of the four stages in the environmental clearance processes. The other three are screening, scoping, and appraisal. Following the public hearings, the project will be appraised based on its environmental impacts.
