Hearing in the midst of mining a mockery ?

Dhaurabhata is a small village on the edge of a coal mine. Today, it will play host to an unusual public hearing. Its people, and those from nearby villages, will gather to express their views not on a proposed coal washery, but one that already exists. Activists have termed this 'a serious mockery of environmental law'.

According to Ministry of Environment and (MoEF) rules, no mining or industrial project can be set-up without environmental clearance, and no clearance can be given without a mandatory public hearing, meant to be a platform for those affected by the project to debate its impact. Any objection raised by local people during the hearing must be considered by the expert committee before it can grant the project clearance.

But environmental groups of Raigarh allege Jindal Power Limited not just established a coal washery in the area, they even operationalised it, without either a public hearing or environmental clearance. “This public hearing is a farce intended to legalise an illegal project,” said Ramesh Agrawal of Jan Chetana, who has written a letter to the minister of environment and forests Jairam Ramesh.

The company has denied the allegations. “The coal washery is not operational,” said Arun Arora, Vice President, JPL in a written reply to a newspaper. The company also clarified that it had been given permission to establish a 800 TPH coal washery by the state government.

But a closer look reveals this permission was a conditional one. On 3 February 2007, the Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB) gave JPL ‘consent to establish’ a coal washery, provided it obtained environmental clearance from MoEF by 30 June, 2007.

When the company failed to obtain clearance in the stipulated period, the member secretary of CECB asked it to halt work. The regional office of CECB was asked to inspect the project site and submit a report within seven days.

But seven days stretched into three years. No inspection took place. No report was submitted. Till recently, just four days before the public hearing, under pressure from environmental groups in Raigarh, the regional officer John Lakra visited the site, and reported on that day ‘the coal washery was not in operation’.

When asked if the completion of the washery itself constituted a violation, since the company had been asked to halt work, Lakara said it could not be proven. “Since no inspection had taken place earlier, it cannot be said whether the washery was completed before or after the halt work order was issued”.

Activists allege CECB, the state-level agency meant to keep tabs on environmental compliance by companies, is routinely missing in action, deliberately overlooking violations by companies.

“Even when companies are found guilty of violating laws and operating without clearances, no punitive measure is taken against them and their operations continue unaffected,” said Sudeip Srivastava, lawyer and activist.

For instance, on 6 October 2009, a site inspection by CECB revealed a coal washery owned by SKS Ispat Limited was operating in Siltara near , without environmental clearance. That week CECB’s regional office asked for permission to file a legal case against the company. It took nine months for the case to be filed.

Interestingly, government records show that SKS Ispat’s coal washery had been given ‘consent to establish’ by the state government, despite the member secretary of CECB placing on record his disapproval.

Chhattisgarh is among ’s fastest industrialising states, with more than 200 projects, and 700 more on the way. Environmentalists fear the state is speeding down the industrial highway without enough road checks.

An environment magazine in its cover story ‘Chattisgarh’s Industrial Jungle’, wrote “Power generation in the state alone will produce 133 million tonnes of flyash. Three million tonnes each of oxides of sulphur and oxides of nitrogen will also be generated. The government is prepared. Are the people ready? Are they willing?”

“If public hearings will be reduced to a mere formality, how will local people safeguard their interests?,” said Jayant Bahidar of Raigarh Sangarsh Morcha.

“If the stakeholders have objections to the coal washery, they can state their opposition in the public hearing, we will forward the details to the Ministry of Environment and ,” said Narasinga Rao, Member Secretary, CECB.

Indian coal has high ash content. To reduce fly ash generated, coal is washed before being fed into thermal power plants. This reduces pollution at the plant, but at the site of the coal washery, it generates particulate matter and gases, and runs the risk of toxic leaks into water sources.

This small district of Chhattisgarh, on the border of Orissa, could end up generating one quarter of coal based power in India. More than 45 power projects are planned, with a capacity of 16,000 MW, and nearly 200 mining projects are at various stages. Local protests against mining and industry have turned intense as farmers report a drop in crop yields and minor forest produce like Mahua. Available pollution data is sketchy since only two monitoring stations operate in the entire district.