September 12, 2025

Big trouble in Madhya Pradesh! Congress leader Jairam Ramesh fired a sharp volley at the Adani Group on Friday. He said the company is cutting trees illegally on government and forest land for their coal mine project in Dhirauli — all without proper permission. Ramesh called it a "blatant violation" of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) of 1996. He claimed that the Modi government had forced this mining project on locals from the top down in 2019. Now, in 2025, the project is speeding ahead without essential legal clearances. "This is simply because Modani is a (f)law unto itself," Ramesh said sharply on X. The coal block is in a Fifth Schedule Area where tribal rights and self-rule are protected by the Constitution. But Ramesh says these safeguards are being ignored. No Gram Sabha, or village council, consultations have happened—meaning tribal voices are missing, despite Supreme Court rules making Gram Sabha consent a must. According to Ramesh, the Forest Rights Act requires Gram Sabhas to approve any forest land diversion. But here, that approval seems to have been skipped. Even the Stage-II forest clearance from the Environment Ministry, needed for diverting about 3,500 acres of prime forest land, has not been given. Yet, deforestation has begun. Local tribal villagers, including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG), are protesting this mad rush. Families uprooted by past projects now face the nightmare of eviction again—a painful double displacement. Ramesh passionately warned, "Mahua, tendu, medicines, fuel wood all will vanish with the implementation of this project." For Adivasis, forests are not just resources; they are sacred. "Compensatory afforestation is a very, very poor ecological substitute," he added. The Modi government’s top-down push from 2019 is now pushing ahead without clearing critical legal hurdles. Meanwhile, Adani Power recently announced it has got approval from the Ministry of Coal to start mining operations at the Dhirauli mine. But as Jairam Ramesh’s fiery words show, many question if this mining bonanza is trampling over tribal rights and environmental laws. Will the government listen to the voices in the forests, or will this coal mine roar forward regardless?

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Tags: Adani group, Jairam ramesh, Madhya pradesh, Coal mining, Forest rights act, Tribal protests,