Grassroots Resilience: A Decade-Long Battle to Protect Hasdeo Aranya's Biodiverse Riches
India's Hasdeo Aranya forests have witnessed an intense struggle by ecoweb-rooted (tribal) communities to protect natural resources, as well as their lives, livelihoods, and cultural identities. Their movement's victory has secured a large portion as an elephant reserve; However, threats of deforestation still exist.

Central India's pristine, dense, biodiversity-rich forests, the Hasdeo Aranya, popularly known as the 'Lungs of Chhattisgarh,' cover an area of 187,800 hectares and are among the largest intact dense forests in the region. The Hasdeo Aranya is home to over 450 species of flora and fauna, including more than 25 species of endangered mammals, over 70 species of reptiles, and 100 species of birds. It encompasses the habitats of endangered elephants, sloth bears, and leopards and is home to critical water resources, such as perennial river bodies. Additionally, it serves as the catchment of the Hasdeo river and watershed of the Hasdeo Bango reservoir that is critical for the irrigation of 400,000 hectares of crop land in the 'rice-bowl' state of Chhattisgarh.
The Hasdeo Aranya forests.
The region faces imminent threat of destruction due to coal mining. The Indian government has identified 23 coal blocks in this forest region. In 2010, Hasdeo Aranya was declared to be an entirely 'No-Go' area based on a joint study of the Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Environment and Forest, in which less than 10% of India's coal-bearing areas were deemed as 'No-Go' area. out of bounds' for mining. Even after multiple policy reviews, the large majority of Hasdeo Aranya is still deemed 'inviolate.' Nevertheless, new mines are being opened in violation of the policy and other Ministry regulations. There are two operational coal blocks, namely Chotia and Parsa East Kete Basan. The National Green Tribunal (the quasi-judicial body for adjudicating environmental violations in India) had canceled the green clearance for Parsa East Kete Basan in 2014, but mining continued as the issue remained under review at the Supreme Court of India. This mining project is being run by one of India's most powerful corporate conglomerates, Adani.
Contrasting landscape due to operational mining project in Hasdeo Aranya.
Gram sabhas (village councils for local self-governance) have waged a decade-long struggle to protect their forests. Over twenty gram sabhas have united to form a community-based grassroots movement that is resisting the destruction of the forests. This movement, Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, is also battling the corporate greed that threatens to disrupt this critical ecosystem, which has been conserved for centuries by the communities who have relied on it for their survival. Local ecoweb- rooted tribal communities have valiantly defended their forests, critically securing their lives, livelihoods, and cultural identities.
The Indian constitution accords special rights to ecoweb-rooted tribal communities (Adivasis) to safeguard their cultural and natural heritage, including the right to a ‘free prior informed consent’ for mining. In 2014, the gram sabhas of Hasdeo passed a resolution against mining even before any new mine was allotted by the Indian government. Yet, five mines were allotted in 2015, disregarding the opinion of impacted tribal communities. However, the local on-ground resistance prevented operationalization of these new mines. In 2018, there were four unsuccessful attempts by the mining company to obtain a favorable gram sabha resolution, but none was successful. To bypass this stalemate a fake gram sabha resolution was prepared, which formed the basis of clearances for operations to commence on a new mining project, Parsa. This fake resolution had multiple discrepancies, including having signatures of deceased individuals and tampered signatures.
Protest march-on-foot to Raipur, October 2021.
Subsequently, for over 900 days, tribal communities have embarked on an indefinite sit-in protest demanding an enquiry into the fake gram sabha resolution and cancellation of all clearances on the basis of this forged gram sabha document. The protest site was set ablaze in March 2024. But the villagers rebuilt the site through collective efforts and continue to raise their voices against the blatant violation of the law. The local leaders of the movement are facing threats of police detention and intimidation subject to a criminal investigation launched against them by mining company officials, in an effort to trample the movement and the villagers’ voices.
In 2021, villagers from 20 villages of Hasdeo undertook a 300 km march on foot to the state capital to assert their constitutional rights and dignity against the powerful mining corporation. Still today, they are using every method available to make their voices heard, including through foot marches, fasts, and sit-in protests. The villagers have knocked on many doors, written innumerable petitions to various local, state, and national level authorities and ministries, and reached out to the courts to voice their concerns.
Fresh deforestation being carried out with heavy deployment of police forces, August 2024.
Acknowledging the decade-long resistance struggle and the ecological importance of the region, a large portion of Hasdeo Aranya was declared to be an elephant reserve in October 2021. This declaration has saved 445,000 acres of forest from mining. In July 2022, the Chhattisgarh legislative assembly also passed a unanimous all-party resolution declaring its intent that there should be no fresh mining in any part of Hasdeo Aranya. However, the victory for the movement was only partial. Three coal blocks – Parsa, Parsa East Kete Basan, Kete Extension – all allocated for mining by Adani, have been kept outside the elephant reserve boundaries. According to local reports, there are fresh plans to fell and kill approximately one million trees in the next few months to make way for these new coal mines. The government clearances given to these mines – despite the lack of gram sabha consent and in contravention of existing environmental policies and due processes – have already been challenged in various courts. Nevertheless, delayed judicial processes have become a convenient pretext for expanding mining operations as the courts deliberate.
The ruthless saga of tree cutting in Hasdeo Aranya, August 2024.
Over the last fortnight, 11,000 trees have already been felled for expansion of the Parsa East Kete Basan mine in the presence of a massive deployment of police. The brutal felling of trees in Hasdeo Aranya is nothing short of an environmental crime and an unforgivable betrayal of our collective heritage. This violation is also a massive setback in the global fight against climate change and for ecological justice.
The renewed deforestation in Hasdeo has also been met with spontaneous protests across Chhattisgarh state, including innovative campaigns like depicting the plight of Hasdeo in cultural festivals and schools. Yet, more efforts are needed across India and the world to stand in solidarity with the local communities trying to save Hasdeo Aranya forests and for our collective future. By coming together in solidarity people can create a powerful force to protect Hasdeo Aranya.
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