Chhattisgarh Environment Minister Mohammad Akbar has written to the central government, requesting that coal blocks in the region of Hasdeo and Mand rivers and a proposed elephant reserve area in the state not be auctioned for environmental reasons. According to experts, there are four coal blocks — Mogra South, Mogra II, Sayang and Madanpur North — in the area out of the 41 blocks set to be auctioned for commercial mining in line with an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
“I request that coal blocks in the area of the Hasdeo forest and Mand rivers as well as those in the area of the proposed elephant reserve not be included in the upcoming auction,” said Akbar in a letter to the Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
