Around 350 people from tribal communities of 30 villages in Chhattisgarh's Sarguja and Korba districts have been walking for the last nine days to reach state capital Raipur.

The march — of more than 300 km — is to register their protest against coal mining projects, and what they allege is “illegal” land acquisition.

“If we don’t walk now, our children will have nowhere to live,” Shakuntala Ekka, one of the protestors marching to Raipur from Madanpur said.

The march from Fatehpur, in Ambikapur of Sarguja district, started on October 3. It is expected to end October 13.

What's the march for?

The villagers have been protesting against the ongoing and proposed coal mining projects in Hasdeo Aranya region, which they say threaten the forest ecosystems — the state's “lungs”. The region is rich in biodiversity and is catchment area for Hasdeo and Mand rivers, which irrigate the northern and central plains of the state.

According to Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, a joint platform of protesters from the two districts, despite their protests, six coal blocks have been allocated in the region, of which two have become operational for mining: Parsa East and Kete Basan (PEKB) block, and Chotia-I and -II block.


On December 24, 2020, the Centre had issued a notification under Section 7 of Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957, giving thousands of villagers in the region a 30-day period to submit objections, if any, over rights on any parcel of land.

On February 8, Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said the ministry received more than 470 objection letters but he said that under the 1957 law, there is no "provision regarding any consent from Gram Sabha".

“Valid compensation under regulations of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 and Chhattisgarh Ideal Resettlement policy 2007 will be paid,” he had said.

Protesting villagers, however, said compensation is not enough. “Money and our homelands are not equitable".

Note : The mining sector is one of the major emitters of greenhouse gases and it produces fossil energy resources that also significantly contribute to global CO2 emissions.

Source : IE