F. No. 8-31/2011-FC

Sub: Diversion of 245.78 ha of forest land in favour of M/s Eastern Central Coalfields Limited for Coal mining at Chuperbita OCP of Group of Mines in Pakur and forest Division in Pakur and Gudda Districts, respectively in the State of . 1. The State Government of Rajasthan vide their letter No. 3/Vbanbhoomi-24/2008/59/VP dated 5.01.2011 submitted the above mentioned proposal seeking prior approval of the Central Government under Section-2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. 2. However, due to non-submission of requisition by the State Government, site inspection of the area proposed for diversion could not be undertaken by the Regional Office, Ranchi. The Regional Office, Ranchi, after receipt of requisite information from the State Government, carried out the site inspection of the area on 16.09.2015 and the same was received in the FC Division in 6th November, 2015. 3. The facts related to the proposal as contained in the State Government’s letter dated 03.12.2014 are given below in the form of fact sheet: FACT SHEET

1. Name of the Proposal Diversion of 245.78 ha of forest land in favour of M/s Eastern Central Coalfields Limited for Coal mining at Chuperbita OCP of Rajmahal Group of Mines in Pakur and Godda forest Division in Pakur and Gudda Districts, respectively in the State of Jharkhand 2. Location (i) State Jharkhand (ii) District Pakur and Godda 3. Particulars of Forests: (i) Name of Forest Division Pakur Forest Division and Godda Forest and Forest area involved. Division, 245.780 ha

(ii) Legal status/Sy.No. Reserve Forest – 92.282 ha Protected Forests – 99.516 ha Jungle Jhari - 53.982 ha Total - 245.78 ha

(iii) Map SOI Toposheet – Pg- 202/c. Digital DGPS map- Not enclosed

4. Details of the user agency Name of the user agency Eastern Coalfields Limited- A subsidiary of Coal Limited. Nature of the user agency A Central Government undertaking

5. Topography of the area - 6. (i) Geology - (ii) Vulnerability to erosion Area is undulating and prone to erosion. 7. (i) Vegetation Species wise details of vegetation composition not provided.

(ii) Density 0.4 & 0.6 to 0.7

(iii) No. of trees to be felled Regional Office in its inspection report has reported that total number of trees enumerated comes to 444286, out of which 95893 trees are 30 cm girth and 348393 are above 30 cm girth class. However no marking on the trees is found during inspection.

8. Whether area is significant from No wildlife point of view 9. Whether forms part of National No the proposed area does not form part of park, Wildlife Sanctuary, National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary, Biosphere Biosphere Reserve, Tiger Reserve, Tiger Reserve, etc. Reserve, Elephant Corridor, etc. (if so, details of the area and comments of the Chief Wildlife Warden 10. Whether any RET species of No rare/endangered species of flora & fauna flora and fauna are found in the were found in the area. area. If so details thereof 11. Approximate distance of the Proposed site is along the Forest Boundary. proposed site for diversion from boundary of forest. 12. Whether any protected Such an area is not located in the Proposed archaeological/ heritage area. site/defence establishment or any other important monuments is located in the area. 13. Whether any work of in No violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 has been carried out (Yes/No). If yes details of the same including period of work done, action taken on erring officials. Whether work in violation is still in progress. 14. Whether the requirement of Yes, Forest land by the user agency is forest land as proposed by the unavoidable and balest for the project. user agency in col. 2 of Part-I is unavoidable and barest minimum for the project, if no recommended area item-wise with details of alternatives examined. 15. Whether clearance under the Yes Environment (protection) Act, 1986 is required? 16. Compensatory Afforestation Compensatory afforestation has been proposed over degraded forest land, twice in extent to the forest land proposed for diversion. (i) Details of non-forest Degraded forest 491.56 or say 492 ha has area/degraded forest area been identified for raising CA in Pakur and identified for CA, its Godda Forest Division. distance from adjoining forest, number of patches, sixe of each patches. (ii) Map showing non- Map is enclosed. However, differential GPS forest/degraded forest area map of the area identified for raising CA has identified for CA and not been submitted. adjoining forest boundaries. (iii) Detailed CA scheme Enclosed. However, scheme for plantation including species to be over degraded forest land in lieu of 1.5 times planted, implementing the area of safety zone has not been agency, time schedule, cost submitted. structure, etc. (iv) Total financial outlay for CA Scheme = Rs. 2,56,07,980.00 CA NPV= Rs. 18,78,06,526.00 Safety zone linear plantation = Rs. 98,54,860.00 1 ½ times of safety zone block plantation= Rs. 15,54,008.00 Total financial Outlay= 22,48,23,374.00

(v) Certificate from the Not enclosed. competent authority regarding suitability of the area identified for CA and from management point of view. 17. Catchment Area Treatment NA 18. Rehabilitation of Oustees a) No of families involved Number of families on the cire area b) Category of families where670 SC families – 163 ST families - 364 Number of backwar families – 143 Total 670 families c) Details of rehabilitation plan Not enclosed. 19. Compliance of Scheduled Tribe Not submitted. and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 20. Cost Benefit Ratio Rs. 1:10:19 Cost benefits analysis appears to be inappropriate. It appears that suitable techno- economic tools to assess the parameters specified in the Guidelines issued under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 have not been applied in the CB analysis. 21. Total Cost of the Project Part-1 -Total capital investment of the project will be Rs 585.47.

However in the SIR of the Regional Office, the cost of the project is reported as Rs 517 crores.

22. Employment Potential Total manpower required for the project is 1169 and the land owner whose land falls in the core zone will be recruited as per the company policy which will be direct employment, Lot of other will get employment e.g. contractual job, civil works, and other ancillary jobs related to the project. 23. Detail of mining lease Nature of mining Open Cast Total area of mining lease Date of Grant of mining lease Not mentioned Validity of mining lease Not mentioned 24. Purpose wise breakup of forest land Particulars Forest land Non-forest Total (ha) (Ha) land (Ha) i. Quarry area 211.461 543.539 755.0 ii. External Dump 34.319 338.681 373.0 iii. Infrastructure and Others 0.0 93.0 93.0 iv. Rehabilitation, Colony 0.0 77.500 77.50 Total 245.78 1187.72 1433.5 Safety Zone 5.588 - 5.588 Kindly note that area of safety zone has not been included in the total area proposed for diversion

25. Compliance of Scheduled Tribe Not submitted. and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rihgts) Act, 2006 26. Recommendation i. DFO Recommended (pg-85-88/c) ii. CCF Recommended (pg-68-70/c) iii. Nodal Officer Recommended (pg-91/c) iv SG Recommended (pg-67/c) 27. District Profile (i) Total Geographical area of 2794.83 Sq. Km. the district (ii) Total Forest area/Divisional 21172.00 Ha. Forest area (iii) Total area diverted 507.40 ha. (Two Cases). since 1980 (iv) Total CA stipulated since 1980 a. Forest land including 139.50 has penal CA b. Non Forest Land 437.64 ha (v) Progress of Compensatory Afforestation a. Forest land Fund deposited in various b. Non Forest land Banks under term deposits.

The State Government and the PCCF have recommended the proposal subject to general and standard conditions applicable to the mining projects.

SITE INSPECTION REPORT IN RESPECT OF DIVERSION OF 245.78 HA OF FOREST LAND FOR CHUPERBITA OCP,RAJMAHAL GROUP OF MINES OF M/s EASTERN COALFIELD LTD IN PAKUR AND GODDA FOREST DIVISIONS OF JHARKHAND. The site inspection of the above project was carried out by the undersigned on 16.09.2015 in the presence Divisional Forest Officer Pakur, Assistant Conservator of Forest of Godda Forest Division, user agency represented by GM (I/C), Dy GM of Rajmahal group of mines, Range forest officers of Hiranpur and Boarijore Ranges of Pakur and Godda forest divisions and other field staff.

1. Legal status of the forest land proposed for diversion:

The legal status of the forest land is Protected Forests (Notified), Reserve forests and Jungle Jhari.

2. Item-wise break-up details of the forest land proposed for diversion.

The item-wise break-up details of the forest land is as follows:

Division R.F Area (in ha) P.F. area (in ha) Jungle Jhari (in Total ha) Pakur 92.282 92.569 52.073 236.924 Godda -- 6.947 1.909 8.856 Total 92.282 99.516 53.982 245.780

3. Whether proposal involves any construction of buildings (including residential) or not. If yes, details thereof:

Not reported.

4. Total cost of the project at present rates:

As per record it is Rs 517 crores.

5. Wildlife:

Whether forest area proposed for diversion is important from wildlife point of view or not: No rare/endangered species of fauna are found in the area. Proposed area for diversion does not form a part of National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary, and Biosphere/Tiger Reserve.

Since the area of forest land diverted is large i.e.245.780 ha, it will definitely show significant impact on the flora and fauna of the area.

6. Vegetation:

The density of vegetation appears to be 0.4 in Godda, and 0.7 in Pakur forest divisions. It appears to be a highly dense forest area.

(a) Total number of trees to be felled. The no. of trees enumerated comes to 444286, out of which 95893 trees are 30 cm girth and 348393 are above 30 cm girth class. However no marking on the trees is found during inspection.

Effect of removal of trees on the general ecosystem in the area:

As number of trees involved is very large, it will adversely affect the general eco-system of the area.

8. Compensatory afforestation:

As reported, DFO, Pakur has identified 492.00 ha of degraded forest land along forest boundary in 14 patches. The DFO,Godda has identified 18.00 ha of degraded forest under one patch.

(a) Whether land for compensatory afforestation is suitable from plantation and management point of view or not:

Suitable as reported by DFO's Pakur and Godda.

(b) Whether land for compensatory afforestation is free from encroachment/other encumbrances:

No information is available in records.

(c) Whether land for compensatory afforestation is important from Religious/Archaeological point of view:

Not reported.

(d) Land identified for raising compensatory afforestation is in how many patches, whether patches are compact or not:

DFO, Pakur has identified degraded forest land for raising compensatory afforestation in 14 patches. DFO,Godda has identified degraded forest raising compensatory afforestation in one patch.

(e) Map with details:

Enclosed as Annexure.

(f) Total financial outlay:

2.248 crores.

9. Whether proposal involves violation of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 or not. If yes, a detailed report on violation including action taken against the concerned officials: As reported, no violation of has been committed.

10. Whether proposal involves rehabilitation of displaced persons. If yes, whether rehabilitation plan has been prepared by the State Government or not :

As reported around 670 families in the core zone area where mining activities will be carried will be will be rehabilitated, Out of which ST families are 364 involving 1900 people, SC families are 163 involving 852 people and 143 BC families involving 750 people will be involved. Detailed resettlement and rehabilitation plan has been prepared and submitted.

11. Reclamation plan:

Submitted by the user agency and the same is enclosed.

12. Details on catchment and command area under the project:

Not applicable.

Catchment area treatment plan to prevent siltation of reservoir:

Not applicable.

13. Cost benefit ratio:

As reported it is 1:10.19.

14. Recommendations of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests/State Government:

Recommended by the PCCF / State Government.

15. Conservator of Forests (Central) shall give detailed comments on whether there are any alternative routes/alignment for locating the project on the non-forest land:

Annexed separately.

16. Utility of the project:

It is stated that to meet the demand of power grade coal for the three Super Thermal Power Stations i.e. Farakka STPS,Kahalgoan stage-1 STPS and Kahalgoan stage-II STPS, Cuperbita basin was identified as potential source of thermal grade coal and the same will be supplied to the three STPS.

Apart from this, project will provide employment opportunity to people, help in development of local industry, improve the quality of life of the people, and help in upliftment of social and educational standards of the people. As reported number of people benefitted will be 1169 through employment and indirectly it will benefit 17 lakh people approximately.

17 Numbers of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes to be benefited by the project:

As reported around 670 families involving 3502 people in the core zone area where mining activities will be carried will be will be rehabilitated, Out of which ST families are 364 involving 1900 people, SC families are 163 involving 852 people and 143 BC families involving 750 people will be involved.

(a) Whether land being diverted has any socio-cultural/ religious value: Not reported. (b) Whether any sacred grove or very old growth trees/forests exist in the areas proposed for diversion: Not reported. (c) Whether the land under diversion forms part of any unique eco-system: Not reported.

18. Situation with respect to any Protected Area:

Proposed area for diversion does not form a part of National Park. Wildlife Sanctuary, Biosphere/Tiger Reserve..

19. Any other information relating to the project:

During the site inspection it was observed that no work has been started and the whole area was demarcated on the ground by RCC Pillars with appropriate numbers. The GPS coordinates of some of the pillars were selected randomly and were verified on the ground by handheld GPS instruments and found to be in order. The boundary pillars were maintained in proper conditions but in some places the boundary pillars were completely damaged by the local people and iron rods used in pillars were stolen. The user agency was advised that in such places RCC pillars could be replaced with Stone pillars.

The user agency may also explore the possibility of underground mining instead of open cast mining. The user agency shall have to take all possible precautions for protection of environment and control of pollution while operating in the area.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF ADDL.PRINPAL CHIEF CONSERVATOR OF FORESTS (CENTRAL)

On perusal of records and Site Inspection Report of DCF the following observations are made: i. The item-wise break-up of the forest land is as follows:

Division R.F Area (in ha) P.F. area (in ha) Jungle Jhari (in Total ha) Pakur 92.282 92.569 52.073 236.924 Godda -- 6.947 1.909 8.856 Total 92.282 99.516 53.982 245.780 ii. It may be seen that 92.282 ha of Reserved Forest is proposed for diversion. iii. The density of vegetation has been reported to be 0.4 in Godda and 0.7 in Pakur Forest Divisions. Maximum forest area (236.924 ha.) proposed for diversion falls under Pakur Forest Division which comes under highly dense forest area with vegetation density 0.7. iv. Total 4,44,286 No. of trees are proposed to be felled (i.e. 1808 No. of trees per ha.), out of which 95,893 trees are below 30 cm girth and 3,48,393 trees are above 30 cm girth. v. Diversion of such a large patch of forest land (245.78 ha) will definitely have adverse impact on the flora and fauna of the area. vi. The Cost Benefit Ratio is 1:10.19, i.e. benefit is very less in the view of loss of the large quantity of highly dense forest. The proposal may be decided keeping in view the above observations/ facts. The User Agency may explore the possibility of underground mining instead of open cast mining in view of the density of forest.

In view of the above facts related to the proposal, it is proposed that proposal may be submitted to the FAC in its forthcoming meeting scheduled to be held on 24.11.2015.

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