Green Tribunal Declines Parallel Proceedings on Hasdeo Deforestation Case

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has announced it will not continue with proceedings concerning the alleged deforestation linked to mining in the Hasdeo forest, Chhattisgarh. This decision comes as related cases are pending in both the Supreme Court and a high court.

The matter initially attracted the tribunal's attention when media reports highlighted tree cutting by the state forest department to facilitate mining for the Parsa East-Kente Basan (PEKB) Phase-II project. This coal block is allocated to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam, a government-run power generation company.

A bench led by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted in a May 28 order that the issues at hand are encompassed within two writ petitions already filed in higher courts. As such, the tribunal concluded that revisiting the matter would not be justified and thus dismissed the ongoing applications.

(With inputs from agencies.)