The proposed project site is 700 metres from the border between Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The landscape here overlaps the central Indian plains and the Eastern Ghats, a range of mountains along the eastern coast of India abutting the Bay of Bengal. The site, owing to its proximity to numerous protected areas, was placed in an area marked as having ‘high tiger connectivity’ in a report published in February 2018 by the Wildlife Conservation Trust, a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Mumbai.

The report, titled 'A Policy Framework for Connectivity Conservation and Smart Green Linear Infrastructure in the Central Indian and Eastern Ghats Tiger Landscape', says that the tiger landscape of central India and the Eastern Ghats is spread over eight Indian states – Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The report says that this tiger landscape – with 23 tiger reserves and about 46 other protected areas with tiger presence – is one of the largest tiger landscapes in India and harbours about 31% of the country’s tiger population. These reserves are inter-connected by numerous corridors which are used by wildlife, particularly tigers, to move from one place to another.

‘This meta-population of tigers in the Central Indian Tiger Landscape has the highest genetic diversity of wild tiger populations anywhere in the world,’ says the report.

The Trust, which published this report, works in close coordination with several government bodies India. It was compiled to analyse the negative impacts of linear infrastructure projects – such as roads, railway lines and electricity transmission lines – on wildlife wherever the clearing of forests is required. As many as 17,000 different proposals for forest clearing after the year 2014 were analysed for the study. (The Indian government has been accused of using a disputed rule to enable such projects to escape proper environmental scrutiny. Conservationists allege that infrastructure development agencies have been segmenting linear projects into smaller packages to escape the rigours of environmental assessment).

The study of these proposals revealed that though the amount of forest cleared for linear projects is lower than for other developments, the impacts on the viability of wildlife populations is disproportionately disruptive.

‘This disproportionate negative impact is further amplified due to the lack of awareness regarding the ecological importance of the area being diverted and often such projects are cleared on the basis of public interest and also because diversion of a relatively small amount of forest land is required,’ the report further stated.

The proposed Anuppur thermal project does not involve clearing of forest. The entire area required for the project, 371 hectares (which prior to its acquisition consisted of 312 ha of private land and 59 ha of government land), is already in the possession of the project proponent. However, the representation says that the project site is ecologically sensitive owing to its location in an area through which a great many tigers move.

In its response, the project proponent has cited another study, Connecting Tiger Populations for Long-Term Conservation, claiming that there is ‘no wildlife corridor within 15 km radius of the project site’. This report, published in 2014 by the ministry’s National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), formed to conserve and protect India’s endangered tiger population, in association with the Wildlife Institute of India, another autonomous institution belonging to the ministry, also highlights the crucial environmental importance of the central Indian plains and Eastern Ghats tiger landscape.

The representation cited provisions of India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 to require approval for the project from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), an expert body under the ministry which assesses the feasibility of diverting parcels of land from protected wildlife habitats in India. It cited the Act’s Section 38-O which states:

‘Ensure that tiger reserves and areas linking one PA [protected area] or Tiger Reserve with another PA or Tiger Reserve are not diverted for ecologically unsustainable uses, except in public interest and the approval of the NBWL and on the advice of the NTCA.’

The representation stated that the project will have a negative impact on important wildlife corridors and may also lead to an increase in human-wildlife conflict in the area: ‘The proposal, if permitted, will disturb the already fragmented wildlife corridor. Efforts should be undertaken by the respective authorities to restore the fragmented corridor as it will help in creating a diverse gene pool. We urge the committee to kindly consider the importance of wildlife corridors before taking any decision for the proposed project. Efforts should be undertaken by the respective authorities to restore the fragmented corridor as it will help in creating a diverse gene pool,’ it says.

However, the Adani Group responded again by citing the report titled Connecting Tiger Populations for Long-Term Conservation to claim that there is no wildlife corridor within 15 km radius of the project site and hence clearance from NBWL is not required.

The representation highlighted pre-existing coal mines and coal-power plants in the study area and demanded that a cumulative environment impact assessment be carried out and considered before giving the green light to Adani’s coal-power plant. It also highlighted that the project not only abuts the Kewai River but is also within a 5-km radius of forest areas that include the Dehuli Reserved Forest, the Gundru Protected Forest, the Rukra Reserved Forest and the Nandlal Patera Protected Forest. In its response, the project proponent said that the Kewai River is about 40 meters away from the project boundary and that the plant will be constructed more than 500 m from the river.

‘… a thick green belt (>100 m) will be developed in the area which is nearing river boundary. All the necessary measures will be taken to avoid impact on the river, which will be detailed during EIA studies. The project envisages use of the best environmental safeguard practices … for ensuring minimal /negligible impact from the proposed project,’ the Adani Group said.

The ministry did not heed the demand raised in the representation to obtain an NBWL clearance for the project. A cumulative environment impact assessment has, however, been recommended in the terms of reference given to the Adani company for carrying out the environmental impact assessment report.

‘There are no national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, tiger/elephant reserves, wildlife corridors etc. within 10-km distance of the project site … A Cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment study of all the existing and proposed projects in the 10-km radius of the proposed project shall be conducted and the same shall be included in the EIA/EMP report. Details of industrial units present in a 10 km radius of the power plant shall be marked on a map and submitted,’ the EAC stated in the minutes of the meeting held on 1 October 2024.

The proposed project will be an ultra-super critical thermal power plant with four units of 800 MW each. It will consume about 13.3 million tons of coal per annum (MTPA) which the Adani Group plans to source from two of its coal projects in the Singrauli coalfields, namely the Gondbahera Ujheni East and Mara II Mahan coal blocks. (See the AdaniWatch stories on these contentious proposals for new coal mines) The remaining coal (6.3 MTPA) will be procured through e-auctions.

At least three villages – Chhatai, Majhtoliya and Umarda – in the Anuppur area will be affected by the project.

The project previously belonged to another multinational Indian conglomerate, the Welspun Group, which was granted an environmental approval in November 2012 for a plant with a capacity of 2 X 660 MW. The former Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of India said that the project would not be allowed to expand beyond the approved 1320 MW capacity.

Welspun failed to establish the project, which was subsequently acquired by the Adani Group. The validity of the environmental approval was extended to November 2023 after Adani took over the project. However, no construction, other than a boundary wall, took place before the expiry of the approval. In October 2024, it emerged through news reports that Adani Power Limited, the Adani Group subsidiary which handles its business in the power sector, had completed 100% acquisition of the project.

The Annupur coal-power project has caused hardship for local communities who lost their lands to enable the plant to be built. When the project was owned by Welspun, around 360 ha (including 218.53 ha of farmland) were acquired. It was estimated that two families would be displaced and an additional 227 individuals would lose land. A group of farmers who had lost land for the project in February 2012 submitted a memorandum to the state government earlier this year highlighting their plight.

The farmers said that they had been forced into a life of unemployment because, after their farmland was taken over, none of the promised jobs on the power project materialised. They also said that the unemployment allowance paid to them by the project proponent had not been adjusted for inflation for several years. The Adani Group responded by arguing that the coal-power plant will generate 600 direct and indirect jobs during its operational phase.

The UPA government has noted in its environmental clearance letter to Welspun that there were four protected reserve forests in the study area.