Nagpur – A major environmental concern has surfaced involving the proposed felling of over 25,587 trees in the vicinity of the Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district. The trees are located on a 374.90-hectare forest land that has been allocated to Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) for the Durgapur Deep Extension Opencast Project.
During a recent hearing at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, it was revealed that the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is now scrutinizing the proposal to change the name of the user agency, a step required to modify conditions for additional tree cutting permissions.
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14 April 2025
Public Interest Litigation Sparks Action
The issue was brought before the court through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Prakriti Foundation, highlighting the large-scale deforestation and its potential impact on biodiversity and the ecosystem. According to the Range Forest Officer’s report, the project would lead to severe ecological damage.
The Assistant Inspector General of Forests submitted a copy of a decision dated March 21, 2025, outlining key points discussed in a meeting chaired by the Inspector General of Forests, Government of India. The meeting suggested the need to amend approval conditions for allowing additional tree felling, but only after the Ministry reviews the proposal for changing the name of the user agency.
Court Informed About Further Measures
The court was also informed that any changes to approval conditions would require endorsement from competent authorities. The process of notifying the remaining compensatory afforestation land as protected forest will be expedited. Notably, the state government will only permit further tree felling once the entire compensatory afforestation area is officially declared a protected forest.
The court was assured that action would be taken, as per existing rules and guidelines, against those responsible for unauthorized or excessive deforestation.
Petitioner Highlights South Tadoba Deforestation
Advocate Mahesh Dhatrak, representing the petitioner, informed the court that massive tree cutting has already been observed in the southern region of the Tadoba Tiger Reserve, raising serious ecological red flags.
Previous Investigation & State’s Commitment
The Advocate General representing the state stated that an investigation was already conducted by the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, who was designated as the Nodal Officer for the Lloyds Metals & Energy Ltd. project. The report was submitted to the state government on March 30, 2025.
The Advocate General further assured the court that within three weeks, the state government would provide detailed information regarding violations of tree-felling conditions, and a formal affidavit would be submitted by the Forest Secretary, elaborating on all relevant decisions and future course of action.
