Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday (September 12, 2025) alleged that the Adani Group has started cutting trees on government and forest land for its coal mine project in Dhirauli, Madhya Pradesh, in what he described as a “blatant violation” of the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
Ramesh, a former Environment Minister, claimed the Modi government imposed the allotment from above in 2019 and is now pushing ahead with it in 2025 without securing essential legal clearances. “This is simply because Modani is a (f)law unto itself,” he said on X. There was no immediate response from the Adani Group or the Centre to the allegations.
“In Dhirauli, Madhya Pradesh, Modani has begun cutting trees on government and forest land for its coal mine—without Stage-II forest clearance and in blatant violation of FRA, 2006; PESA, 1996. Villagers, mostly Scheduled Tribe communities and even a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), are rightly protesting,” he said.
The coal block is located in a Fifth Schedule Area, where tribal rights and self-governance provisions are constitutionally protected, Ramesh pointed out. He added that these protections appear to have been ignored, with no Gram Sabha consultations conducted despite the mandates of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, and Supreme Court judgments requiring Gram Sabha consent.
“The Forest Rights Act, 2006 mandates that Gram Sabhas must decide on the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes,” Ramesh said, highlighting that approvals in this case appear to have been bypassed. Stage-II clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the diversion of roughly 3,500 acres of prime forest land has not been granted, even as the company begins deforestation. “Families earlier uprooted by projects now face eviction again—a double displacement,” he added.
Ramesh also warned about the environmental and livelihood impacts of the project. “Mahua, tendu, medicines, fuel wood—all will vanish with the implementation of this project,” he said, stressing that forests are not merely a source of sustenance but are sacred to local Adivasi groups. He noted that compensatory afforestation is an inadequate ecological substitute.
Earlier this month, Adani Power confirmed it had received approval from the Ministry of Coal to commence mining operations at the Dhirauli mine in Singrauli district. According to the statement, all permissions required from the Coal Ministry to begin operations have been secured.
The unfolding situation has placed the Dhirauli project at the center of a broader debate over industrial expansion, tribal rights, and environmental safeguards in India, raising questions about balancing development with legal and ecological responsibilities.
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