Organisations, including community-based groups from Kharsang in the Changlang district, have jointly petitioned the minister of environment, forest and climate change, calling for a fresh public hearing before mining operations resume at the Namchik-Namphuk coal block.
They have urged the state government to withhold the issuance of Consent to Operate (CTO) to Coal Pulz Pvt Ltd (CPPL) – the current leaseholder of the coal block – until a new public consultation is conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. Coal Pulz Pvt Ltd is a joint venture between two industrialists, Naveen Singhal and Ratan Sharma.
The Namchik-Namphuk coal block, which holds nearly 15 million tons of coal reserves in Arunachal Pradesh, was auctioned in November 2022 without a public hearing, apart from the one held in December 2002. The mine was originally allotted to the state-run Arunachal Pradesh Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Ltd (APMDTCL), and was subsequently reallocated to Coal Pulz Pvt Ltd in 2023 following an auction under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015.
Coal Pulz Pvt Ltd is reportedly the first private entity to explore commercial mining in the Northeastern region.
In February, thousands of indigenous residents from Longtom-I & II, Panchun, and Injan in Kharsang staged a protest rally against the auction of the Namchik East and West coal mining projects. They demanded an immediate halt to the auction process, citing environmental concerns. The protesters raised alarms over the adverse impact of open-cast coal mining on the indigenous Tangsa communities residing in these villages.
These concerns are legitimate, as the environmental destruction associated with coal mining should not be ignored. Addressing these citizen petitions before the commencement of large-scale mining should be a priority. While public hearings are often treated as mere administrative formalities, they also present an important opportunity for the state to listen to its citizens and consider their concerns. It is unethical to extract resources from the land while refusing to engage with the indigenous communities who are directly affected.