Press release - August 1, 2011
New Delhi, 29th July, 2011: Reacting to the recommendations by the government panel appointed by the Group of Ministers debating the issue of ‘No Go’, Greenpeace Policy Officer Priya Pillai said, “This recommendation is exactly what the PMO wanted to push through by removing Jairam Ramesh from the Environment Ministry. If accepted these recommendations will signal the irreversible destruction of lakhs of hectares of forests, while questions raised on the efficiency of the current coal operations are yet to be answered.”
Challenging the Coal Ministry’s contention that forest clearances are affecting power generation on the grounds that it already has 200,000 hectares of land available to it, Greenpeace has called for an assessment of coal reserves in existing mines and a process of public consultation with people’s groups, wildlife researchers and others prior to any decision to sacrifice additional forest area for fresh mines.
Expressing concern over the panel’s recommendations, advocate Ritwick Dutta said, “The panel’s recommendation to allow mining in non-forest land prior to obtaining forest clearance is extremely dangerous and will lead to even more ‘fait accompli’ situations across the country. Coal mining poses the most dangerous threat to forests, wildlife and tribal communities in Central and Eastern India. If this government is serious about “inclusive growth”, it cannot continue to destroy our forests and forest communities to mine more polluting coal.”
A recent study has found that, contrary to the government’s claims, India’s natural forests have been declining at an alarming rate of 1.5% to 2.7% per year. (1)
“There should be a moratorium on all new mines until there has been an evaluation of the impact of these mines on biodiversity, community and the environment. As Minister for Environment and Forests, Jayanti Natarajan has to show that she will not be cowed down by the coal industry but will truly represent India’s forests and biodiversity and the communities that depend on them,” said Priya Pillai.
Note to Editor:
1. Jean-Philippe Puyravaud, Priya Davidar, & William F. Laurance, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, and School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Australia.
For further information, please contact:
- Shachi Chaturvedi, Media Officer, Greenpeace India, +91 98187 50007,
- Priya Pillai, policy officer, climate and energy, Greenpeace India, +91 9999357766,