Fourth coal mining project in MP near Bandhavgarh-Achanakmar tiger corridor gets key nod since July
The Union environment ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) recommended clearance for an underground coal mining project in Umaria district, Madhya Pradesh, located close to the tiger corridor linking Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary/Tiger Reserve.
The project — the West of Shahdol (South) Underground Coal Mine, operated by JK Cement Limited — involves a mining lease of over 1,400 hectares, including more than 960 hectares of forest land, though the underground workings will disturb only about 19 hectares of forest.
This is the fourth coal mining project near the same tiger corridor to receive a key clearance since July 2026, following the Pathora East, Marwatola VII and Arjuni West projects.
The EAC's recommendation is conditional on Stage-I (in-principle) forest clearance from the Forest Advisory Committee, including compensatory afforestation, ahead of final Stage-II approval.
Wildlife Corridors and Section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
Section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 requires every state government to prepare a Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP) for each tiger reserve, covering not just the reserve's core and buffer but also the ecologically compatible use of adjoining land that functions as a corridor — the dispersal habitat linking one tiger population to another. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), working with the Wildlife Institute of India, has mapped over 30 such major corridors nationally.
Key Details
- Section 38V(3), WLPA 1972 — mandates state-level Tiger Conservation Plans addressing corridor land use
- NTCA-WII report "Connecting Tiger Populations for Long-term Conservation" has mapped 32 major tiger corridors across India
- The Bandhavgarh-Achanakmar corridor connects the Kanha-Pench tiger population with the Bandhavgarh-Sanjay-Dubri population cluster, per NTCA's corridor documentation
- Corridors themselves are not a separate legal protection category under WLPA — protection is indirect, through TCP land-use guidance and case-by-case clearance scrutiny of projects near them
The mine sits roughly 6 km from this NTCA-identified corridor. Because corridors lack a standalone statutory protection status (unlike National Parks or Sanctuaries), approvals for nearby land-use changes are decided project-by-project through the forest and environmental clearance process rather than being barred outright — explaining how four such projects have been cleared near the same corridor within months.
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 — Two-Stage Clearance and Compensatory Afforestation
The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 requires Central Government approval before forest land is diverted to non-forest use, including mining. Clearance is granted in two stages: Stage-I (in-principle approval, subject to conditions like compensatory afforestation) and Stage-II (final approval, issued after the state government reports compliance with Stage-I conditions). The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), a statutory expert body, examines diversion proposals and recommends action to the Central Government.
Key Details
- Two-stage clearance: Stage-I (in-principle) → compliance with conditions → Stage-II (final diversion approval)
- FAC recommendations feed into the Central Government's final decision under the Act
- Compensatory afforestation requires the user agency to provide equivalent non-forest (or degraded forest) land and funds, administered via the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 (CAMPA)
- The Act was renamed and amended in 2023 as the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, narrowing the definition of "forest" land covered and adding exemptions
The EAC's environmental clearance for the mine is conditional on this separate Stage-I forest clearance track — meaning the project needs both an environmental clearance (EIA route) and a forest clearance (FCA route) before mining can commence, with compensatory afforestation as a mandatory condition given the 960+ hectares of forest land in the lease area.
EIA Notification, 2006 — Category A Appraisal for Coal Mining
Under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, coal mining projects above a threshold area are classified as Category A projects, which must be appraised at the Central level by an Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) — rather than by State-level committees (SEAC), which handle smaller Category B projects.
Key Details
- Coal mining leases above the threshold fall under Category A (Schedule of the EIA Notification, 2006), appraised centrally
- Category B projects (smaller mining leases) are appraised by State Expert Appraisal Committees (SEAC)
- EAC appraisal is expected to be completed within 60 days of receipt of the final EIA report, per the Notification's timelines
- EAC clearance is distinct from, and in addition to, forest clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
The environmental clearance reported here is the EAC-level Category A appraisal; it is a necessary but not sufficient step, since the project also needs the separate Stage-I/Stage-II forest clearance before it can begin operations.
Species and Protection Status in the Corridor Landscape
The project area reportedly hosts 29 Schedule-I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, including tiger, leopard, sloth bear and striped hyena — Schedule I being the Act's highest protection category, on par with absolute protection and the most stringent penalties for violation.
Key Details
- Tiger (Panthera tigris): IUCN status Endangered; Schedule I, WLPA 1972
- Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus): IUCN status Vulnerable; Schedule I, WLPA 1972
- Leopard (Panthera pardus): IUCN status Near Threatened; Schedule I, WLPA 1972
- Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena): IUCN status Near Threatened
- Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (Umaria district, MP): notified National Park in 1968, declared Tiger Reserve in 1993 (716 sq km core, 820 sq km buffer)
- Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary (Chhattisgarh/MP border): declared Wildlife Sanctuary in 1975, Tiger Reserve in 2009
Underground mining near a Schedule-I species-rich corridor carries specific risks flagged by ecologists — land subsidence altering surface topography, drainage of wetlands, and canopy disturbance — even where the direct forest land disturbed (19 hectares) appears small relative to the total lease area.
- Project: West of Shahdol (South) Underground Coal Mine, Umaria district, Madhya Pradesh
- Operator: JK Cement Limited
- Mining lease area: 1,400+ hectares; forest land within lease: 960+ hectares; forest area to be directly disturbed (underground): ~19 hectares
- Distance from Bandhavgarh-Achanakmar tiger corridor: ~6 km
- Schedule-I species recorded in project area: 29 (including tiger, sloth bear, leopard, striped hyena)
- Fourth project near this corridor cleared since July 2026 (after Pathora East, Marwatola VII, Arjuni West)
- Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve core area: 716 sq km; Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary area: ~557.55 sq km