Press release - January 28, 2013
New Delhi, January 25, 2013: The long overdue report of the committee to formulate parameters on inviolate forest areas closed to coal mining has finally been uploaded to the MoEF website, 7 months after it was submitted by the committee in July 2012. (1)
Ashish Fernandes, Senior Campaigner, Greenpeace said, “Given that civil society groups have been asking that the criteria be opened for public consultation, it is disappointing that the government now seeks to present these parameters as final. Over 1.1 million hectares of forest, (2) the livelihoods of lakhs of forest-dwellers (3) and the fate of endangered species such as the tiger, leopard and elephant will be affected by this process.”
Commenting on the parameters themselves, Fernandes said, “The parameters themselves have some lacunae as the crucial element of livelihood dependence of forest-dwelling communities is completely ignored. Further, the criteria should have specified a clear prohibition of mining within 10 km. of the boundary of Protected Areas and Tiger Reserves, as recommended by the Supreme Court.”
Notes:
1. http://envfor.nic.in/assets/Report_on_Inviolate_Forest_area.pdf
2. How Coal Mining is Trashing Tigerland: http://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/publications/How-coal-mining-is-trashing-tigerland/
3. Countering Coal: http://www.greenpeace.org/india/Global/india/report/Countering-coal.pdf
Contact:
Ashish Fernandes, Campaigner Greenpeace, 99869 89433, 
Jagori Dhar, Media Officer, 98112 00481 