Mahan Coal Limited, India

Description:

Mahan Coal Limited is a 50:50 joint venture (JV) firm of Hindalco Industries (Aditya Birla Group) and Essar Power. Mahan Coal Limited (MCL) is going to extract coal from Mahan block of Singrauli fields in Madhya Pradesh. Coal produced by MCL will supply coal to the proposed power plants of both Essar and Hindalco. Essar Power is investing Rs 4,000 crore for a 1,000MW power project while Hindalco is setting up a 750-MW captive power plant with an estimated investment of Rs 2,400 crore. As per the lease agreement, Essar will use 60% of the coal output and Hindalco will take the remaining 40%. The mine, with proven reserves of 150m tonne of coal, will cater to the combined Rs 6,400 crore power projects being set up by the two conglomerates [1].

Basic Data

Name of conflict:	Mahan Coal Limited, India
Country:	India
State or province:	Madhya Pradesh
Location of conflict:	Singrauli
Accuracy of location	HIGH (Local level)

Source of Conflict

Type of conflict. 1st level:	Mineral Ores and Building Materials Extraction
Type of conflict. 2nd level:	Coal extraction and processing Deforestation Mineral ore exploration Land acquisition conflicts
Specific commodities:	Coal Land Electricity

Project Details and Actors

Project details	Mahan Coal Limited ('MCL'), a joint venture company between Hindalco lndustries Limited ('HIL') and Essar Power M.P Limited ('EPMPL'), has been granted a captive coal block ('Mahan Coal Block') in Singaruli District of Madhya Pradesh, which will mine coal for the two ventured companies. The total coal reserves are about 144 Million Tonnes with the grade of coal as E to F. The Mahan Coal Block isto produce 8.5 Million Tonnes of coal per annum by open cast mining system [5] The investment corresponds to INR 6,400 Crore, more than US$ 1 billion.
Project area:	1,072
Level of Investment for the conflictive project	1,040,000,000
Type of population	Rural
Affected Population:	14,000
Start of the conflict:	2009
Company names or state enterprises:	Aditya Birla Group from India Essar Power Limited from India Hindalco Industries Limited from India
Relevant government actors:	Ministry of Coal, Government of India, Ministry of Enviornment & Forest, Madhya Pradesh Government
Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available:	Mahan Sangharsh Samiti (MSS), Greenpeace India, Kalpavriksh

Conflict & Mobilization

Intensity	HIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...)
Reaction stage	In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation)
Groups mobilizing:	Farmers Indigenous groups or traditional communities International ejos Local ejos Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements Local scientists/professionals Kalpavriksh Bollywood actor Abhay Deol (Green Peace Campaign)
Forms of mobilization:	Boycotts of official procedures/non-participation in official processes Development of a network/collective action Development of alternative proposals Involvement of national and international NGOs Land occupation Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism Media based activism/alternative media Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Street protest/marches

Impacts

Environmental Impacts	Visible: Air pollution, Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover Potential: Desertification/Drought, Food insecurity (crop damage), Global warming, Noise pollution, Soil contamination, Soil erosion, Waste overflow, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity, Mine tailing spills
Health Impacts	Potential: Other environmental related diseases
Socio-economical Impacts	Visible: Violations of human rights, Land dispossession, Loss of landscape/sense of place Potential: Displacement, Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Loss of livelihood, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures

Outcome

Project Status	Under construction
Conflict outcome / response:	Compensation Negotiated alternative solution Under negotiation
Proposal and development of alternatives:	Greenpeace India demands a moratorium on all new coal mining activity in forest areas till the government sets criteria for inviolate forests (those closed to mining) through a transparent consultative process.The campaigners argue that renewable-energy can power our future as it will be cheaper and a healthier alternative [4]
Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?:	No
Briefly explain:	If the project materalized, the forest will be lost. Forests need to be protected. According to the MoEF note on Mahan, a range of factors go against the allocation of this area for coal mining including its richness of biodiversity. Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh said that he is not clear why such a good quality forest area should be broken up for such a partial requirement. With this the ministry recommended that an alternative coal linkage be provided for the power plants rather than grant approval to the Mahan coal block [6]

Sources & Materials

Juridical relevant texts related to the conflict (laws, legislations, EIAs, etc)

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 with Amendments Made in 1988
[click to view]

Convention On Biological Diversity (INDIA)
[click to view]

THE ENVIRONMENT (PROTECTION) ACT, 1986
[click to view]

National environment policy 2006
[click to view]

References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries

Singrauli: The Coal Curse

[click to view]

[1] Welcome to Mahan Coal Limited
[click to view]

[2] Indias poisonous coal use set to increase
[click to view]

[3] Villagers in Mahan forest protest marking of trees
[click to view]

[4] Actor Abhay Deol joins protest against coal mining in Singrauli
[click to view]

[5] Upcoming Projects
[click to view]

[6] Mera Bharat aur Mahan
[click to view]

Villagers in Mahan forest protest marking of trees
[click to view]

Mahan at all costs
[click to view]

Kalpavriksh
[click to view]

FOREST-DWELLERS STAGE PROTEST AGAINST COAL MINING AT MAHAN
[click to view]

Coal mines: Minister pulls up MP for coercing tribals
[click to view]

Green Clearance Watch
[click to view]

Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network

Abhay Deol in Singrauli
[click to view]

When 1000 people come together to take back what is theirs, you have this!
[click to view]

Jungle na milenge dobara
[click to view]

Forests vs Coal Mining: Times Now exclusive feat. Abhay Deol
[click to view]

Junglistan - The Story of the Forest Dwellers (Full Version)
[click to view]

Meta information

Contributor:	Sohan Prasad Sha & Swapan Kumar Patra
Last update	18/08/2019
Conflict ID:	1009