The Talabira forest in Sambalpur district is on the verge of being wiped out. On 9 and 10 December 2019, more than 40,000 trees were cut for an open cast coal mine. The move came after the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change granted Stage II clearance to divert 1,038 hectares of forestland for the mining project on 28 March 2019.

The open cast mine comprises Talabira II and Talabira III coal blocks. These blocks were previously allocated to Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), Mahanadi Coal Fields and Hindalco for mining operations. The allocation of the mine to Hindalco was, in fact, at the centre of the coal scam. Following the Supreme Court’s order on 24 September 2014, cancelling the allocation of 214 coal mines to various private and state-owned corporations terming it illegal, the Talabira II and III coal blocks were re-allotted to NLC India Limited in July 2018. A subsidiary of the Adani Group, Talabira (Odisha) Mining Private Limited signed an agreement with NLC in the same year to develop and operate the coal blocks. Coal mining activities commenced from April 2020.

According to the letter submitted to the Central government by the Forest and Environment Department of Odisha seeking approval for the mining, the project in the two blocks will displace 1,894 families, including 443 Scheduled Caste families and 575 Scheduled Tribe households.

The forest dwellers depend on the Sal trees dominant in the forest for their food and livelihood. The 'mahua' they collect from the forest provides them income worth at least four months. Besides selling tubers, millets and mushrooms, the tribals also make plates out of Sal leaves, which they sell in the market.

But the forest dwellers do not have titles under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) because they never filed any claims for forest rights. “We thought this is our forest and no one can take it from us... Therefore, we never applied for rights under the FRA,” Hemant Kumar Raut, a resident of Khinda village, told Down To Earth.

This is a violation of the law as “the FRA rules, 2012, require that the concerned officials raise awareness about the Act and its provisions. This is especially important if no claims are forthcoming and can enable the process of filing claims,” Kanchi Kohli, senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Research, told Down To Earth.

Between 2005 and 2008, notices were issued for the acquisition of land for the coal mine under India’s Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition & Development) Act, 1957. In August 2009, the Government of India issued a formal notification stating that acquisition of nearly 384 hectares of land for the Talabira II and III coal mining projects was complete.

A news report quotes members of the Talabira Village Assembly as saying that they never gave consent for the diversion of forestland. The families also claim that the government has not offered any rehabilitation package to those who are dependent on the forest for their livelihood.

Villagers have been staging a sit-in protest at the site for the open-cast mine since February 10, 2020. On February 13, at least 15 people from Budhiapali village were arrested by the police for protesting against the mining project. They were released on bail two days later.

Meanwhile, Raut and other villagers claim that the NLC has tried to bribe them. "They selected a few people from one village and paid them Rs 4,000-5,000 and promised to continue to pay more in instalments. In the next month, some other people were bribed. But when they did not receive the next instalment, they realised they were being cheated, Raut told The Wire. 

According to a report by Adani Watch, many families have been denied compensation for not having proper land records. In March 2020, women from Majhipada village protested against the same but the demonstrations were suppressed by the local police.

In a petition filed before the National Green Tribunal in 2016, locals raised concerns over violation of conditions of Environmental Clearance by Project Proponents, demanding accountability. In 2020, the tribunal held them accountable for violation of the conditions including indiscriminate disposal of overburden generated being dumped on agricultural lands. A fine of Rs 2.5 crore was imposed on Adani Group (REL) and Rs 7.5 crore on Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco Industries Limited for such violations.

The order was appealed before the Supreme Court by Adani Group (REL), which was dismissed. The apex court directed the companies to pay the interim penalties imposed by NGT. The amount received was directed to be held in a separate account by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board and be used according to the final recommendations of a six-member expert panel formed by the tribunal to investigate environmental violations. The panel conducted a field investigation in early March 2022 but is yet to submit its findings.

Despite fines being imposed, overburden dumping persists in many villages like Budhiapalli, rendering the land infertile, contaminating groundwater, and causing air pollution. Unfortunately, this is forcing families to consider leaving these areas in the future. On 8 March 2022, Sambalpur police arrested 13 men for allegedly resisting the dumping of overburden from the Talabira II coal mine. 

During an EAC meeting held on 14 March 2023, it was discovered that there is significant non-compliance regarding environmental clearances. This includes the failure to install pollution control systems at the Talabira II and III mines, as well as inadequate efforts to develop greenery around these sites among others.

Furthermore, the development of the 2400 MW Thermal Plant at Talabira through NLC India Limited has already started. On 2 February 2024, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the plant.