Overview
- On the last day of the winter session, Congress MLAs left the House protesting permissions to cut nearly six lakh trees for the Dhirauli coal block in Singrauli.
- Forest Minister Dilip Ahirwar said cutting 570,667 trees is authorized, 33,000 have been felled so far, and the project holds final forest diversion approval dated May 9, 2025.
- Opposition leaders alleged coercion of Gram Sabhas and violations of PESA and the Forest Rights Act, and they demanded a judicial inquiry, which the government refused.
- The government maintained the coal block is outside notified PESA areas and reported compensatory measures, including 13.97 lakh saplings in other districts, 1,397.55 hectares of non-forest land, and Rs 98 crore deposited.
- Officials noted the block was allotted in 2021 to Adani associate Stratatech, now merged into Mahan Energen, and said the project could generate about Rs 485 crore a year and roughly 900 jobs.