HC Directs Activist to Approach NTCA Over Gadchiroli Mining Project
The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has directed a petitioner challenging a 937-hectare iron ore mining project in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district to approach the National Tiger Conservation Authority. The court observed that the authority is best placed to assess whether the proposed area connects to the Tadoba-Indravati tiger corridor, the Eastern Vidarbha Landscape, or Grid No. 259, and whether the venture requires wildlife clearance.
The court permitted the withdrawal of the petition, filed by Mumbai-based lawyer and social activist Sagar Kantilal Devre of Mulund (East), Mumbai, allowing the petitioner to approach the statutory body directly with a representation. The order noted that the petitioner had not submitted a representation to the authorities prior to filing the court plea.
The petition challenged three key regulatory approvals: the environmental clearance, Stage-II forest clearance, and a wildlife clearance exemption granted for the diversion of 937.077 hectares of forest land. The designated land spans several villages in Gadchiroli's Etapalli taluk, including Hedri, Bande, Parsalgondi, and Round-Parsalgondi, allocated in favour of Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd.
According to the petitioner, the project area falls directly within the Tadoba-Indravati tiger corridor. The plea claimed the project received an exemption from wildlife clearance without evaluating the statutory Tiger Conservation Plan, NTCA guidelines, Wildlife Institute of India scientific reports, or the project proponent's GPS and KML maps.
The challenge cited alleged violations of Sections 38-O and 38-V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which govern the mandate of the NTCA and statutory Tiger Conservation Plans. The petition also raised concerns over the failure to conduct GIS-based corridor analysis, radio-telemetry analysis, dispersal route assessments, and cumulative impact assessments, along with an arbitrary withdrawal of a legal clarification by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest.
The State government had cleared the proposal to divert 9.4 square kilometres of forest land for iron ore extraction on May 13. A coalition of 20 civil society organisations has also urged the NTCA to review the proposal and reconsider the Least Cost Path computer-based modeling used to map the animal movement routes across the corridor.
