Reportedly, the government is preparing to cut the forest of Buxwaha present in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. In fact, the Madhya Pradesh government has found diamond reserves in the forests of Buxwaha, which the government wants to take possession of.
The proposed diamond mine project in the Buxwaha forests of Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh has been facing resistance from environmentalists and nature lovers. The country’s largest diamond reserve is in Buxwaha and it is estimated that there are 3.42 crore carats of rough diamonds in the area. The project will spread in 364 hectares in the forests and extraction of diamonds could result in the felling of 2,15,875 trees. Locals and environmental activists are protesting against the project over ecological concerns demanding the withdrawal of the project.
Earlier too, there were protests when a company started working in the area. They could not complete the project and had to go back. Now, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the project in Buxwaha forests, which is situated about 225 km northeast of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh’s capital.
Environment activist Kavita Ashok, who is opposing the cutting of these trees, said that many tribal families live close by and their livelihood depends upon the forest. “The tribals sell various forest products and earn money to sustain their lives. They fear that the project will deprive them of their livelihood and their lives will be destroyed after the falling of trees in the forest,” she said.
If we talk about the story behind this, the proposed Bunder diamond block in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh has been in the news for the wrong reasons over the years. The diamond mine project, which is now with Aditya Birla Group’s Essel Mining & Industries Limited, is once again facing dark clouds due to protests over ecological concerns, as it could result in the felling of 2,15,875 trees. The proposed project will be spread across an area of 382.131 hectares in the Buxwaha forests that is about 225 km northeast of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh’s capital. The block is estimated to have 34 million carats of rough diamonds. The National Mineral Development Corporation’s existing diamond mine is about 175 kilometres from Bunder. According to the mining firm, it plans to develop a fully mechanised opencast mine and state-of-the-art processing plant for recovery of diamonds with an investment of about Rs 2,500 crore. It noted that the project, once operational, has the potential to become one of the largest diamond mines in the Asian region. The company targets the execution of the mining lease by the end of the financial year 2022. However, the project is facing stiff opposition, including social media campaigns. Already, a Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court of India, seeking a stay on the project that had been secured by the Essel Mining & Industries Limited in 2019. “The Forest clearance report shows that the project would cost 2,15,875 trees in the forest region and also use a lot of water,” said Sankalp Jain, a local youth who is associated with one of the groups running social media campaigns such as ‘save Buxwaha forest’ and ‘India stands with Buxwaha forest’ last month.