Central Govt clears major iron-ore expansion in Maharastara’s Maoist-hit Gadchiroli tribal forests

In a significant decision with far-reaching environmental and socio-political implications, the Union government has cleared a major expansion of iron ore mining in Maharashtra’s Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district.

The Environment Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) has recommended environmental clearance for Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd. to more than double the production at its Surjagarh iron ore mine — from 10 million tonnes per annum to 26 MTPA.

The move comes just weeks after the ministry greenlit the clearance of over 900 hectares of dense forest and the felling of more than 1 lakh trees for Lloyds’ upcoming ore-washing plant — a facility aimed at upgrading raw iron ore for steelmaking.

The Surjagarh mine is located deep within the Bhamragad Reserve Forest, one of the last contiguous stretches of forest in central India, straddling the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. The forest’s unfragmented terrain supports free movement of wildlife across ecosystems—a point noted by an EAC sub-committee during a site visit in April. The panel recommended stringent conservation safeguards and insisted that Lloyds adhere to a wildlife management plan in consultation with the forest department.

“The project proponent shall implement the recommendations of the wildlife conservation plan in letter and spirit. Monitoring of flora and fauna must be conducted within a 10 km radius of the project site,” the EAC stated in its minutes from the May 15 meeting.

Though the approval comes with both standard and project-specific environmental safeguards, the decision arrives amid unresolved legal challenges. Several petitions related to earlier mine expansions are still pending before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. The EAC has noted these cases and directed the company to comply strictly with all environmental and legal obligations.

Originally granted in 2007, the Surjagarh mining lease covers 348 hectares and is valid through May 2057. Despite the early allotment, full-scale operations began only in 2016 due to sustained Maoist opposition and local tribal resistance. The mine has been a flashpoint in the region, with deep-rooted tensions over tribal rights, environmental concerns, and violent extremism.

In one of the most serious incidents, Maoist insurgents torched 69 trucks and three earthmovers at the site in December 2016. Earlier, Lloyd Steel’s vice president Jaspal Singh Dhillon was shot dead—allegedly by Maoist cadres.

The mine also came under legal scrutiny in 2022 when the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board filed a case against Lloyds for operating without a valid environmental clearance. The company pleaded guilty and was convicted under the Environment Protection Act. Nevertheless, in 2023, it secured fresh environmental clearance—this time under the “violation category”—to increase production from 3 to 10 MTPA.

Despite its capacity, production has remained below potential. In 2021–22, the mine produced only 3.2 million tonnes, mainly due to operational disruptions linked to Maoist threats and security concerns.

However, with the Maoist presence reportedly on the decline, due to sustained operations by Maharashtra’s elite C-60 commandos and Central forces, both the Centre and state government are pushing for greater industrial activity in the mineral-rich but underdeveloped tribal district. The latest clearance signals that push is well underway — even if it comes at the cost of ancient forests and fragile local ecosystems.