The Talabira forest in Sambalpur district is on the verge of being wiped out. On December 9 and 10, 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 March 28, 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 Courts order on September 24, 2014, cancelling the allocation of 214 coal mines to various private and stateowned corporations terming it illegal, the Talabira II and III coal blocks were reallotted 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. 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 sitin protest at the site for the opencast 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 INR 4,0005,000 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.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for compensation
Demand for rehabilitation
Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Scrapping of the project
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common
Forest
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
17000
Type of investment:
Investment Expected
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws, Land Acquisition Laws
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
Yes
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Non-implementation/violation of FRA
Non-rehabilitation of displaced people
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Arrest/detention/imprisonment
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
No
Reported Details of the Violation:
On February 13, at least 15 people from Budhiapali village were arrested by the police for protesting against the mining project.
Date of Violation
February 13, 2020
Location of Violation
Budhiapali village
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Odisha Forest Department, NLC India Limited
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Adani Group
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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