‘Environmental clearance for Deucha Pachami coal project may take close to 3 years’

The West Bengal government is yet to start the process of obtaining environmental clearance for undertaking the Deucha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harinsingha coal mining project in the state’s Birbhum district though it has already embarked upon providing compensation and procuring land for the project.

The proposed project area is touted to have the second-biggest coal reserve in the world. It is currently at a flashpoint for a range of reasons, with its possible immediate and long-term environmental impacts being a prominent one.

A senior official, speaking on behalf of the project proponent, told this reporter that they would start the process of obtaining environment clearance “at least after two years”, once the peak withdrawal capacity and viability is known.

Political parties and outfits have been trying to drum up support both for and against the project.

On the other hand, green activists are crying foul that the government is going ahead with the project without assessing its possible environmental and health impacts.

Experts are also drawing parallels to Bangladesh. A number of coal-based projects were abandoned officially by that country recently on the basis of their possible impact on ecosystems and people.

However, the gradually dwindling international support for such projects is believed to be a key trigger behind the U-turn.

Green clearance

A senior official in the state environment department pointed out that the project is yet to start the procedure of obtaining mandatory clearance from the Union government.

“We have not heard anything about the environmental clearance part … perhaps the government is first trying to ensure local logistics and acceptance,” the official said.

“It’s a major mineral project. It falls in the ‘A’ category and hence needs clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change,” the official said.

Though the clearance application will be submitted to the Union government, it is expected that the proponent agency — Bengal Birbhum Coalfields Ltd (BBCL), an unlisted public company classified as a ‘State government company’ — will take the green department and West Bengal Pollution Control Board into confidence before progressing for green clearance.

As per norm, the project proponents will have to first apply to the Union ministry under the TOR (terms of reference) section with detailed project report and pre-feasibility report. Once that is cleared, the Union ministry, in principle, gives a go ahead; the detailed Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report — spread over at least three months — will then have to be submitted.

Subsequently, the state pollution control board will conduct a public hearing after the draft EIA is submitted and then forward the full documentation, including videographic, to the Union environment ministry for consideration of ‘environmental clearance’.

“Once the initial application is made, the process of clearance to such a project will take at least nine months. The Deucha project, politically and otherwise, is very sensitive and may face a lot of challenges; which is likely to push back the clearance even further,” another official said.

“The process is long. We will start with drilling and prospecting to assess the peak capacity; and only then will understand the viability of the project.

“This will be followed by preparation of the mine plan and clearance from the Union coal ministry. The whole process will require at least two years and then we will be in a position to go for environmental clearance,” a senior official of BBCL told this reporter March 9, 2022.

Green questions for Mamata  

Sabuj Mancha, a green platform in the state, has shot a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, raising specific questions about undertaking the project without following environmental protocol and assessing impacts.

The letter, signed by Naba Dutta, general secretary, Sabuj Mancha, reads:

There is no information or data available in the public domain yet about the possible impacts of the proposed project and any mitigation steps planned to counter those impacts … However, the land acquisition process has already started, the compensation package has been announced and forms to apply for jobs are being distributed.

A copy of the letter is with this reporter. It was originally written in Bangla.

“We wrote the letter in mid-February but so far, have not received any response. We will soon organise a meeting to discuss the environmental aspect of the project and take a decision on our future course of action on the issue,” Dutta told this reporter.

The letter queried about the forest area and trees to be cut for the project, possible impacts on the ground and surface water as well as air pollution in the area, waste management and effects on biodiversity.

Bangladesh experience

Nagarik Mancha, a non-profit, has recently released a fact sheet on the project that acknowledged the project’s economic value.

But it pointed out that “existence of these thick basalt layers, however, makes mining of coal difficult” and “foreign investment and technology will hence be needed for mining”.

“Apart from the obvious environmental consideration, economic fallout may also impact the Deucha Pachami project and will add to stranded assets, as it may go the way of Bangladesh coal-based projects,” Harjeet Singh, a senior advisor of Climate Action Network International, said.

“International support for such projects is dwindling quickly, especially after the Glasgow climate summit, with a spate of reports undermining the importance of cutting down coal use to minimize emissions and warming,” he added.

Singh reminded that several coal-based projects, including a few in India, were in the process of being shelved off before their scheduled deadline.

According to sources, the Union power ministry has recently formed an expert committee mandated to consider a proposal to stop installation of new coal-based power units as the country sets out to chalk a plan to meet commitments made at Glasgow.

Bangladesh, last June, scrapped 10 coal-fired power plants that were cleared earlier.

“Bangladesh, being the chair for Climate Vulnerable Forum, referred the climatic and environmental issues as the reason for scrapping the coal based projects. But the actual reason is the drying up of funds from developed countries for such projects,” Sanjay Vashist, director of Climate Action Network South Asia, a non-profit, said.

“While it is good that the coal-based projects have been shelved; Bangladesh has lost a lot of money that went into procuring land and creating logistics,” Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, a professor and air pollution expert from Bangladesh, said.

“West Bengal should learn from the experience of Bangladesh and should not jump into the project without assessing its long-term implications and potential losses that it may incur,” an environment expert from Sabuj Mancha, said.

The Nagarik Mancha draft has pointed out that Coal India Ltd had earlier refused to implement the project, considering its ‘geological challenges’.

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