Cutting down of 2 lakh trees in India- here is what you need to know about the Buxwaha diamond Mining in Madhya Pradesh.
There was a time when every tree bore the blow of sharp axes from humans. Also, that was the same time when everyone started loving trees.
Decades ago, humanity stood together and created a stronghold that prevented large companies from cutting down lakhs of trees in the country. It was a one-of-a-kind uprising that made industrialists divert from deforestation and compelled the government to maintain an act with the positioning of tree census.
And after that attainment, everything calmed down. We were assured that there will be no mass hunting of the greenery gears on our planets.
But things are turning worrisome again.
Hold your senses before your read this-as the government of India has authorized cutting down of 2 lakh trees in the Buxwaha Forest of Madhya Pradesh.
Is it going to be the end of one of the densest wildlife regions of India?
Can we unite again to save this menace?
How far have we come and how far it is still left to go?
Let’s answer these questions in detail.
But first, let’s start with a brief intro of Buxwaha Forests
Buxwaha- an important part of India’s natural resource
Buxwaha is a tehsil and a Nagar Panchayat in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. The lush hilly forest area in the region is spread over 384 acres of land and lies near the Sagoria Village. The forest enjoys a strategic position over one of the richest diamond mines in India. The mine has a deposit of 342 million carats of diamond in raw form. However, the valuable natural resources above the land are more precious than the diamonds underground. The dense forest is home to millions of animals with some of the rarest species of birds, animals, insects and other organisms found here. The forest also has some very rare herbal plants used by the local tribes for medicinal purposes.
Buxwaha and the deforestation timeline
The fate of Buxwaha is now juggling in a rope held by the government at one end and the people of India at the other. To let the mining process for diamonds commence, around 382 hectares of land have to be destroyed accounting for the death of more than 2 lakh trees.
The forest does not only bestows its natural wonders on our planet but also help the local sustain a livable time. The natural resources of the forest support the lives of more than 5,000 tribal people. The deforestation project was strongly opposed in 2014 as the reasons for environmental damage and threat to colonies of tribal people have risen.
In the year 2019, an official tender was issued by the government that addressed the auction for forest mining. This quickly raised concern and denoted that the issue has been ignored by the authorities. The tender was given to the Aditya Birla Group Essel Mining and Industries Limited.
As per the tender details, the 62 hectares of treasured land was given to the Birla Group for the next 50 years.
If this excavation has to be real and implemented, the important cluster of essential trees such as Jamun, Tendu, Ken, Teak, Behda, Banyan and many others have to be cut down.
The math of the area
While the story is pretty much clear till now, there is an interesting twist. For diamonds to be mined approx 60 hectares area is the land required to be cleaned. It is amazing to see how and why the Birla
Group is cutting down 380 hectares of land. If sources are to be trusted, this additional 320 hectares is required to support the infrastructure for mining at this level. This will lead to the cutting down of 2.15
lakh trees.
The response of the locals and the communities
As one can expect, the act is opposed and condemned by the popular environment groups and even the
local tribes. Things became official when a Public Interest Litigation was filed. This was done in the Apex
Court. The filing is against the Mining taking into action the Aditya Birla Group. The demand is to either
cancel or put a stay on the project. The court is forced to stop the vandalizing of the trees as they form
an important part of the natural resources of the world. By signing the petition, there is an increasing
demand of stopping this act. The petition also shows how the government has violated the laws made
for the environment while snatching the fundamental rights of the people living in the area.
Stone age paintings in Buxwaha
Now here is another twist in the tale. Soon after the petition was filed in 2019, the scientists and the
environmental specialists began exploring the Buxwaha area. The ordinary forest gained popularity and
slowly, everyone came to know about it through social media and the internet. It was soon realized that
the green forest is not just home to various varieties of plants and animals, but has a heritage and
cultural importance as well. There are rocks in the forest where one can see the engraved paintings.
These date back to the stone age and hence hold a very precious historical importance. The findings of
stone-age paintings quickly made the area more of a treasure than land for seeking business growth.
There were statues related to other long-gone eras found in the forest lands.
The recent discoveries in the petition case
The good news is, the cutting is to stay on hold.
In an important verdict, the MP court stayed the diamond mining project. The result was announced by
the High Court’s principal bench judiciary. The findings of stone-age paintings played an important role
in turning the decision in the favor of nature. Other than that, the statues of the Kalchuri and Chandel
era were also a strong point of putting the mining to a halt.
Following the issue of an official stay order, the court certainly made it clear that no mining activity will
be conducted until the forest announces its final verdict on the case. This came as a victory for the chief
non-profit organization that led to the petition of the case. The Nagrik Upbhokta Manch is an active organization based in Jabalpur.
It is also known that the judges of the court assured the presence of stone-age rock paintings by confirming it all from the Archeological Survey of India. The ASI reported that the paintings actually date
back to stone-age.
This verdict was announced in July 2021 and the next verdict or hearing is something we all will be waiting for.
Happy ending?
So, starting from the forest, landscapes, hills, birds and animals, we have turned towards the ancient rock paintings from our ancestors. Every aspect of Buxwaha is important. The destruction of something so ancient is simply can’t be justified.
While we wait for the final verdict of the case, we would like to end the story on a happy note. After reading this, most of you would want to support the petition against diamond mining in Buxwaha. But why are you experiencing such intentions? Think about it.
No one wants to kill life. And Buxwaha is a dense cluster of life and beings who have equal rights to live, same as the rights enterprise leaders have. In fact, the beings in the Buxwaha are the reason the land is
untouched by the greed of politicians and industrialists till now. If they weren’t there, the forest might have not been there. Same way, if the forest wasn’t there, the beings would not have survived.
Post credit words
With recent discoveries, Buxwaha has become more important to our nation. When the government can turn old statues and old roads into heritage properties to avoid their destruction, why can’t it do same
with Buxwaha?
It would be quite fair on their part to turn the stone-age lands into the heritage properties of India so that no one could ever think of destroying them. With a hope that this will be true in the future, we
would ask you to pray for the tribes, animals, trees and other living beings in the Buxwaha as in a way, their fate depends on us.
Author: abhishek tuteja
Content writer with sky in eyes and nature in heart, living life learning each lesson per day.
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