Chandrapur (Maharashtra), Oct 1 (IANS) After gathering over a lakh signatures to protect India's forests from coal mining, Greenpeace activist Brikesh Singh Monday ended his month-long perch on a tree on the fringe of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) here.
Singh, who practically lived on a tree since Sep 1 to spread awareness about protecting forests, will now be heading to Hyderabad to hand over the signatures to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is to attend the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Oct 16.
Before leaving Chandrapur, Brikesh Singh led a bicycle rally to the Durgapur coal mine bordering TATR. Brikesh and over 200 people held up a 135-foot eco-friendly fabric banner that asked coal giants to stay away from the forests.
The activists protested the proposed Durgapur coal mine expansion, which, according to them, is a threat to nearly 120 hectares of forest land in a critical tiger habitat.
The core area of TATR is spread over an area of 624 sq km, while the buffer zone and the territorial forest is over 1,100 sq km, which also has habitats of tribals and farmers.
Speaking with reference to the Maharashtra government's recent rejection of Adani's Lohara coal mine proposal on the basis of its wildlife impacts, Brikesh Singh said this is just the beginning.
"Lakhs of hectares of forest face destruction from coal mining throughout central India. A month on this tree made me realise that our forests give us infinite resources," he said after the rally.
The campaign was joined by local activists including Eco-Pro, Green Planet and Satpuda Foundation.
According to a recent analysis by Greenpeace, it was found that mining at 13 out of 40 coalfields in Central India threatens over 1.1 million hectares of forest.
These 13 coalfields, mostly around the territorial forests surrounding TATR, overlap with habitats of endangered species.
After the Prime Minister's Office and the Group of Ministers dismissed the 'No Go' policy on coal mining in forest areas, the coal lobby has been demanding that the ministry of environment fast-track all coal mining proposals in forest areas.
Another Greenpeace campaigner, Nandikesh Sivalingam, who was a part of the rally Monday, said that the NGO is calling for a moratorium on all new forest clearances for coal mining.
"This is until a transparent public consultation process is held to arrive at the criteria for determining which forest areas in coalfields will be permanently closed to mining," he said.
"These criteria need to take into account a range of factors, including biodiversity, livelihood dependence, hydrological values and the value of intact landscapes," he added.
Brikesh Singh began his protest Sep 1 to draw attention to the threat that coal mining poses to bio-diversity and forest dependent communities.
In the last month, he drew the support of villagers, local NGOs and citizens, celebrities, prominent politicians and 1,13,977 Indians across the country.
The petition urges the prime minister to stop allocating new coal blocks and clearing more forests for coal mining until the coal scam is investigated and there is a clear demarcation of areas where mining should not be allowed.
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