The Singrauli region of Madhya Pradesh, often described as “India’s energy capital,” has for decades been a hub of coal mining and thermal power generation. Today, the Dhirouli coal mine project in this district has triggered widespread protests among local communities. In recent years, the project has generated intense controversy, public opposition, and significant legal and social questions. This is not merely a dispute over one mine; it raises a larger question—who pays the price for energy development? Large corporate beneficiaries or the survival of local communities?
India undeniably needs energy. However, critical questions remain: Is coal the future when the country is steadily moving toward solar and renewable energy? Must Adivasi communities continue to sacrifice their land, water, and forests in the name of development? And in whose favor does the balance of mining benefits and losses tilt?
The Adani Group has received mining permissions for several important coal blocks in the Singrauli region, particularly Dhirouli, Mara II Mahan, and Sulyari. These areas are known for dense forests, significant Adivasi populations, and vital water resources. In September 2025, the felling of trees for the proposed coal mine in the Mahrauli area of Singrauli drew criticism. The Dhirouli coal mine project, allotted to the Adani Group in 2019 and granted operational approval by the Union Coal Ministry in September 2025, proposes a peak production capacity of 6.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) through both open-cast and underground mining methods.
The project involves diversion of 1,436.19 hectares of forest land across five villages and is expected to impact three additional villages near the proposed site. The affected villages include Amdand, Amraikhoh, Basi Bardaha, Phatpani, Belwar, Dhirouli, Jhalari, and Sirsawah. The total land requirement is estimated at 2,672 hectares, comprising 1,436.19 hectares of forest land and 1,235.81 hectares of non-forest land.
The Dhirouli mine is believed to be the company’s first captive coal block in the region, with plans to maximize open-cast production by the financial year 2027. Underground mining operations are expected to begin nine years later. Adani Power has secured a 30-year mining lease for the block, and coal extracted from Dhirouli will supply its power plants, including the 1,200 MW Mahan power plant.
Accelerated Tree Felling and Rising Tensions
The large-scale cutting of trees for the Adani project has deepened tensions in Singrauli’s forested areas. Local villagers and Adivasi communities allege that they are being pressured to vacate the area without adequate rehabilitation, compensation, or due legal process. A heavy police presence at the site has further intensified mistrust and anxiety.
Environmental groups and residents claim that more than 46,000 trees are slated for felling. Villagers report hearing machines operating day and night, raising fears of irreversible damage to the region’s forest ecosystem. Adivasi families living along the forest fringe allege that they have been asked to vacate their lands without proper notices, compensation, or rehabilitation. Their homes, fields, grazing lands, and forest-based livelihoods are at stake. For many, this is not just displacement but a direct assault on their ancestral land, culture, and identity.
Experts warn that continued large-scale deforestation in an already industrialized region like Singrauli could worsen pollution levels, degrade air quality, deplete groundwater, and destroy wildlife habitats.
Alleged Violations of PESA and FRA
According to a report published by Land Conflict Watch, the state government maintains that all required approvals and processes have been duly followed and that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change granted Stage-II forest clearance for the project. The government has stated that the project area does not fall under PESA or Fifth Schedule areas and that public hearings were conducted with Gram Sabha consent. It has also claimed that compensation totaling ₹18 crore is being processed at the district level for 49 landholders.
However, critics dispute these claims. The mining lease reportedly spans 26.72 square kilometers, nearly two-thirds of which is forest land sustaining local communities. The remainder includes homes and agricultural fields. In September 2025, senior Congress leader and former Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh alleged that tree cutting had begun on government and forest land without full compliance with the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act. He described the project as proceeding in violation of both the FRA 2006 and PESA 1996.
Reports have also suggested that mandatory consultations with Gram Sabhas under PESA were overlooked and that Supreme Court directives requiring Gram Sabha consent were not properly implemented. In the eight affected villages of Singrauli district, residents claim that adequate compensation, rehabilitation benefits, and recognition of housing and forest rights remain unresolved.
This raises a pressing question: Why is the state government perceived as favoring corporate interests while vulnerable Adivasi communities face displacement?
Environmental and Ecological Concerns
While the Dhirouli coal project may be financially beneficial for the Adani Group, its costs extend beyond economics. The project has significant social and ecological implications. According to reports, the company has received environmental clearance and committed to compensatory afforestation over 1,400 hectares, planting 1.68 million trees at a density of 1,200 trees per hectare. However, questions remain about the availability of equivalent non-forest land within Singrauli district for such offset measures.
In February 2022, the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department reportedly asked the company to provide equivalent land for compensatory afforestation in lieu of 1,436.19 hectares of forest diversion. The company identified only 217.469 hectares of land, located more than 700 kilometers away in western Madhya Pradesh. Critics argue that afforestation far from the affected site does little to address the ecological loss in Singrauli itself.
The project area includes vital water sources, including parts of the Hardul River and its catchment area, and lies along an elephant corridor. Environmentalists warn that mining operations, as well as the proposed underground pipe conveyor belt from Dhirouli to Bandhaura for long-term coal transport, may further damage fragile ecosystems.
Over the past two decades, similar concerns have been raised regarding projects by major corporations such as NTPC, Reliance Industries, Essar Group, and Coal India Limited in Singrauli.
Investment Promises vs Ground Realities
The Dhirouli project involves an estimated investment of ₹2,800 crore. At a state-level investment summit in February 2025, the Adani Group announced plans to invest ₹1.10 lakh crore in Madhya Pradesh across sectors including pumped storage, cement, mining, smart meters, and thermal energy, projecting the creation of 120,000 jobs by 2030. The group has already claimed investments exceeding ₹50,000 crore in energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics, and agri-business in the state, generating over 25,000 jobs.
Additional discussions reportedly involve investments worth ₹1,00,000 crore in projects such as a greenfield smart city, a major airport, and a coal gasification plant.
On one hand, the company positions itself as a key partner in Madhya Pradesh’s economic ambitions, promising employment, enhanced connectivity, and industrial growth. On the other hand, critics argue that these projects entail large-scale deforestation, village displacement, destruction of forest-based livelihoods, rising indebtedness, and increasing corporate concentration.
Is this the model of development India seeks? Must development necessarily pass through the displacement of communities?
The coal mines in Singrauli form part of a larger national debate—balancing energy security, corporate investment, environmental sustainability, and Adivasi rights. Development can be called just only when community consent is genuine, rehabilitation is treated as a right rather than a concession, environmental losses are fully compensated, and local communities have an equal voice in decision-making. The struggle in Singrauli reminds us that development must be built with people, not over them.
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*Researcher at the Centre for Financial Accountability
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