Hasdeo Protest [UPSC Notes]

The Income Tax Department sent a show-cause notice to the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), a think tank that has recently made headlines for the suspension of its Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act registration. The notice asked why the registration granting it tax exemptions should not be cancelled. The Hasdeo movement is said to have been funded by CPR.

In this context, it is important to know what the Hasdeo movement is all about, what is the role of CPR and other related details for the IAS exam.

What is the Hasdeo Movement?

The Hasdeo Movement is a movement by activists against coal mining in the Hasdeo forest of Chhattisgarh.

• The Hasdeo River is a river in central India that flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. It is a tributary of the Mahanadi River and has a total length of approximately 348 kilometres. The Hasdeo River originates in the hills of the Surguja district in Chhattisgarh and flows through the Korba and Bilaspur districts of the state before merging with the Mahanadi River in the state of Odisha.
• The Hasdeo River is an important source of water for irrigation, industrial use, and domestic consumption in the region. It is also an important habitat for various species of fish and other aquatic life. The river is surrounded by dense forests and is known for its scenic beauty. However, the region around the Hasdeo River has been heavily impacted by mining activities, which have resulted in pollution and degradation of the river’s water quality and ecosystem.

Chain of events for mining: 

• The Environment Ministry’s Forest Advisory Council advised against using the forest land for mining in June 2011. Jairam Ramesh, the then-Congress party environment minister, overturned this choice by stating that coal mining would take place elsewhere, far from the dense forest.
• The MoEF approved forest clearance in 2012 for mining at PEKB coal mines phase I, which had a reserve of 137 million tonnes and a mining limit of 762 hectares.
• The Chhattisgarh government announced in March 2022 that it had authorised Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam to mine coal in a 1,136-hectare area as part of the PEKB coal block’s second phase.

Read more on commercial coal mining in the link.

Anti-mining Protest at Hasdeo

For the past ten years, a number of organisations and people have actively campaigned against mining in the area. 350 individuals from tribal communities marched 300 kilometres to Raipur in October 2021, alleging “illegal” land acquisition.

• Fake Gram Sabhas are said to have been established to signify tribal members’ “approval” of mining operations.

• The significance of biodiversity in the area has been highlighted by studies by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE). They also discussed the topic of human-elephant conflicts, pointing out that despite having fewer elephants than other states, Chhattisgarh is responsible for a substantial portion of conflicts because of habitat degradation or forest cutting. These findings warned that more deforestation would cause elephant movements to migrate towards urban areas.

Read more on human-animal conflicts in the link.

Link of CPR with ongoing protest:

• Under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, the CPR was awarded tax exemption status through the year 2027. The I-T Department contested the exemptions with a 33-page show cause letter, sent on December 22, 2022, saying that the CPR was participating in activities which were “not in conformity with the objects and the conditions under which it was registered”.
• Furthermore, The I-T Department’s list of prohibited “activities” includes the CPR’s “involvement” in the Hasdeo movement. This was done through the Jan Abhivyakti Samajik Vikas Sanstha (JASVS). The I-T Dept. has presented calculations indicating in the past four years, the JASVS got between 87%-98% of its donations from the CPR and, according to them, this “was not in pursuance of its approved aims”.

Conclusion: The government is facing the classical dilemma of balancing tribal rights, developmental needs, ensuring freedom of speech and expression and checking anti-India activity. The need of the hour is sustainable development which can ensure the protection of forests, and secure tribal rights by planting proportionate amounts of trees for mining. 

Hasdeo Protest [UPSC Notes]:- Download PDF Here