The elephant in Adani’s room
Geoff Law Jan 24, 2023 https://www.adaniwatch.org/the_elephant_in_adani_s_room many conservationists criticised the decision to exclude several coal blocks from the reserve, including those allocated to Adani by the previous government.
PEKB’s 1130-ha extension, the Parsa coal block and the Kente Extension coal block. Each of these coal projects is having, or will have, its own significant impacts on the future of elephants and indigenous people in central India.
The Adani-operated PEKB mine in the Hasdeo forests - responsible for displacement of Adivasi people and fragmentation of elephant habitat. An expansion of this mine has been fought by local people. These coal projects have been the subject of messy, convoluted battles in the courts, the media and on the streets. Adani’s role in developing these coal mines and displacing Adivasi people has tarnished the Adani brand internationally.
This kind of mess can be avoided when it comes to the 14 blocks contained within the 1995-ha Lemru elephant reserve – provided the Modi government formally notifies it. That would constitute an important step forward in mitigating human-elephant conflict in at least a part of the Hasdeo forests.