AISA flays plans to chop 2 lakh trees in MP

All India Students’ Association (AISA) has condemned the proposed chopping down of over two lakh trees for the diamond mining project in Buxwaha Chattrapur district of Madhya Pradesh.

AISA has said in an article on its website, “In order to extract diamonds from these mines Essel minings of Aditya Birla Group will be cutting more than two lakh trees in the area.”

For the benefit of our readers, we reproduce part of the article, giving credit to AISA.

It is important to note that Buxwaha is located near Chattarpur falls, a drought prone area of Bundelkhand region. Tampering with nature and forests through deforestation could lead to massive ecological degradation. Buxwaha mining project misery adds to the massive ecological devastation awaiting with Ken- Betwa river interlinking project in the region.

Despite environmentalists, activists and researchers warning about the impending ecological disaster, the Madhya Pradesh government is hell bent on going forward with the project resulting in felling of more than 20 lakh trees. The massive destruction these projects and deforestation will not only disturb the ecological imbalance of region but will also directly affect the livelihoods of villagers and forest dwellers dependent on natures resources. A report submitted by the Geology and mining and Rio Tinto company in 2017 admitted that the area marked for mining has a rich biodiversity containing leopards, vultures, deer and many varieties of tress found specifically in this region.

Since, coming to power Modi government has deliberately weakened the Environmental impact assessment (EIA) policy, forest, and wildlife clearance mechanisms for the sole benefit of a few big corporates putting aside the environmental concerns and scientific approach towards environment. EIA 2020 draft that Modi government tried to push despite resistance, is a testimony to this fact.

All these unscientific and callous measures taken by the Modi government towards environment expose its honesty towards tackling climate change. On one hand Modi government makes tall claims of reducing emissions and increasing green cover, and on the other side, it tinkers with EIA, gives licenses for corporates to mine forests and allows massive deforestation.

As the world is being ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot afford an other man-made disaster that exploits our nature and contributes to further climate change. This rapid and abhorrent deforestation of the forests and destruction of the biodiversity and ecological balance, would escalate the catastrophe of climate change which will have direct implications on the people living in the draught prone Bundelkhand region. It becomes obvious to say that this deliberate weakening of EIA and continuous granting of large forest area by government to big corporates in the name of mining of minerals is part of larger project for indirect land grabbing and privatisation of natural resources on large scale. Sole essence of these projects lie in the fact that it brings profit to corporates by exploitation and destruction of environment. However, all it does bring to the lives people is more misery.

Forests are the lungs of the planet; government must stop the massive deforestation project taken up by the Aditya Birla group.