NBWL nod for coal mining in Assam elephant reserve

Amid the countrywide lockdown, the National Board for Wild Life has recommended coal mining in a part of an elephant reserve in Assam. The NBWL’s Standing Committee had on April 7 discussed a proposal for use of 98.59 hectares of land from the Saleki proposed reserve forest land for a coal mining project by North-Easter Coal Field, a unit of Coal India Limited. He recommended a “cautious approach” for preserving the “basic integrity of this forested hill slope” that is a part of the elephant reserve in Assam adjoining Arunachal Pradesh’s Deomali Elephant Reserve with “a sizeable population of elephants.” After detailed discussions, the Standing Committee “recommended for approval” the proposal for mining in the broken-up area after the user agency submits a rectified site-specific mine reclamation plan in consultation with the Assam Forest Department. Compliance report “For the unbroken area, the matter will be considered after the user agency submits a feasibility report for underground mining, and also submits compliance report regarding fulfilment of all other conditions” as recommended in a meeting on January 21, the NBWL committee said. Activist’s charge Green activist Rohit Choudhury said the MoEFCC overturned its own adverse remark on “rampant violation of local forest laws” in November 2019 to fast-track coal mining in the Saleki forestland.