Rio Tinto faces rough forest in M P’s Rs 2,200 crore project

Rio Tinto, the renowned mining company, which has been involved in the  Rs 22,000 crore mining project in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh from year 2004, is facing trouble as Forest Advisory Committees has raised several queries about the feasibility of the project. In fact, the project involves felling of about 4.92 lakh trees and hugely impacts forest area that is also a tiger corridor between the Panna Tiger Reserve and the Navardehi Wildlife Sanctuary. It is also home to species like the monitor lizard, Indian rumped vulture, sloth bear, leopards and the Indian gazelle. 

Of course, the Madhya Pradesh government is fully supporting the Rio Tinto project but forest officials point out that it also involves ecological and environmental issue and hence a final decision cannot be taken without satisfying those queries. 

 It may be recalled that the diamond major has been associated with the project since 2004 with a reconnaissance permit, followed by a prospecting permit in 2006. In 2010, it signed a state-support agreement with the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government followed by a grant of a letter of intent in 2012. The Rio Tinto mining plan was also approved by the Indian Bureau of Mines in July 2013. But even now, its fate seems to be hanging in balance.