DESPITE A CLEAR order by the National Commission of Scheduled Tribes (NCST) to defer public hearings, and a study by Indian Council of Medical Research that points to adverse impact of coal mining on health of tribals, the Chhattisgarh government and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC), facilitated the green clearance for a coal mine in Gare Palma area of Tamnar tehsil in Rajgarh district.
What has now irked tribals and village panchayats is that three coal blocks in Sector IV of Gare Palma and two from the adjacent Ghargoda tehsil, also in Rajgarh district, have been put up for auction despite government-sponsored studies clearly stating that the air and water in the region is polluted, and pointing to increased prevalence of respiratory diseases amongst villagers.
