Excerpt from the speech by activist Ramlal Kariyam
The ongoing struggle in the Hasdeo forest of Chhattisgarh, India, is a 12-year resistance led by Adivasi communities fighting against large-scale deforestation and coal mining. Hasdeo is a rich, biodiverse forest home to elephants and a variety of flora and fauna. The forest provides sustenance to indigenous communities, who rely on it for wild fruits, herbs, and resources such as tendu leaves. The region is also an essential water source, feeding streams and rivers that flow into the Hasdeo Bango Dam, which irrigates 400,000 hectares of agricultural land in the Janjgir-Champa region.
Despite the environmental and cultural significance of the forest, three coal mines—Parsa, Parsa East Kente Basan, and the Parsa East Kente Extension—have been handed over to the Rajasthan government. However, operations are run by the Adani Group, whose involvement has led to increased tensions and pressure on local communities. The government, in violation of the law, has bypassed the mandatory gram sabha (village council) approval required for mining in this Fifth Schedule area. Instead, a fraudulent gram sabha was orchestrated to give the appearance of consent. Land acquisition has continued despite widespread opposition and the lack of legitimateapproval from the local communities.In response, villagers have walked 300 kilometres to Raipur to meet with state officials, receiving verbal assurances that an inquiry would be conducted, yet no such action has been taken. Meanwhile, deforestation proceeds rapidly, and the area has become militarised, with police camps stationed to suppress resistance. The loss of the forest is not only displacing Adivasi communities but also disrupting the habitat of elephants, leading to human-wildlife conflict as elephants destroy crops and homes in the villages.
The struggle is exacerbated by the increasing dominance of corporate power, with the Adani Group seemingly controlling both the land and the state machinery. Villagers have no state representatives to address their grievances, and the legal system has also ruled in favour of Adani. If the Hasdeo forest is destroyed, it will have far-reaching consequences, not only for the indigenous communities but also for the environment and agriculture in the region, threatening water sources, farming, and biodiversity. The fight to protect the “lungs of Chhattisgarh” continues in the face of immense corporate and governmental pressure.
