MAHARASHTRA MUST HALT THE CORPORATE MINING RUSH AND INVESTIGATE JSW–LLOYDS CLEARANCES-GADCHIROLI'S FORESTS ARE NOT FOR SALE
NAGPUR, INDIA, 8 OCTOBER 2026
Proposed 60-million-tonne annual excavation at Surjagarh, 937 hectares of forest diversion, approximately 123,000 threatened trees, tiger-corridor controversy and Indigenous land rights raise grave questions about corporate influence over Maharashtra's environmental governance.
“Is the Maharashtra government accountable to its citizens, or has it become an extension of the steel corporations' boardrooms? Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Co-Guardian Minister Ashish Jaiswal must answer.” — Kishor Tiwari
Kishor Tiwari, President of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), veteran farmers' rights activist and former Chairman of Maharashtra's Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavlamban Mission, has demanded an immediate independent investigation into the rapid expansion of iron-ore mining, mineral processing and steel production in Gadchiroli district.
Tiwari has accused the Maharashtra government of pursuing a politically driven, pro-corporate industrialisation programme that risks converting one of central India's most environmentally sensitive and culturally significant Indigenous forest landscapes into a vast extraction and steel-manufacturing zone.The controversy centres on projects associated with JSW Steel and Lloyds Metals & Energy Limited, including proposed expansion of the Surjagarh iron-ore mine and diversion of 937.077 hectares of forest land.
“Gadchiroli is not an uninhabited mineral warehouse waiting to be auctioned. It is the ancestral homeland of Indigenous communities, a vital wildlife landscape and a living ecological system. No government has the moral or constitutional authority to sacrifice these resources merely to accelerate corporate profits,” Tiwari declared.
1. The 60-million-tonne mining proposal: An unprecedented environmental burden
Official Maharashtra Pollution Control Board documentation describes a proposal by Lloyds Metals & Energy Limited for expansion at the Surjagarh iron-ore mine, covering a 348.09-hectare existing mining lease.The proposal specifies expansion from 10 million tonnes per annum to 26 million tonnes of hematite production, with 45 million tonnes of banded hematite quartzite and 5 million tonnes of waste considered in the mining plan, and total excavation stated as 60 million tonnes per annum.These are project-design figures, not proof that permission for the full proposed expansion has been granted or that extraction at this level is occurring.Nevertheless, the scale raises fundamental questions.Can Gadchiroli's forest ecosystem withstand the combined consequences of large-scale excavation, mineral processing, explosives, dust emissions, heavy vehicles, waste generation, industrial water consumption and steel production?Has any independent scientific body assessed the cumulative carrying capacity of the region?Have the combined impacts of mining, beneficiation plants, roads, slurry pipelines, water extraction and downstream steel facilities been evaluated together?“The government cannot divide a massive industrial transformation into separate applications and then pretend that the forest, rivers, wildlife and tribal communities experience each project in isolation,” Tiwari said.VJAS demands publication of the complete excavation plan, approved annual production ceilings, mining-lease conditions, environmental-clearance status and compliance reports.
2. The 937-hectare forest diversion: A national ecological controversy
A separate forest-diversion proposal associated with Lloyds Metals concerns 937.077 hectares in the Hedri, Bande, Parsalgondi and surrounding areas of Etapalli taluka.Reports based on forest-clearance records indicate that approximately 123,000 trees could be affected.The forests form part of a landscape supporting tigers, leopards, sloth bears, wild dogs, gaur and numerous other species.Concerns have been raised about ecological connectivity between the Tadoba-Andhari and Indravati tiger landscapes.The central question is not simply how many trees may be felled. It is whether an interconnected natural forest, with its wildlife habitat, groundwater recharge, soil systems and community forest resources, can be permanently fragmented without irreversible consequences.Compensatory afforestation cannot automatically reproduce the ecological functions of an established natural forest.“A government that celebrates wildlife conservation while facilitating the destruction of natural forest corridors must explain this contradiction to the country and the world,” Tiwari stated.VJAS demands an independent assessment by the Wildlife Institute of India, National Tiger Conservation Authority and qualified landscape ecologists before further irreversible forest clearance.
3. Forest-clearance irregularities and the tiger-corridor dispute require judicial scrutiny
The controversy is no longer confined to public protest.Proceedings before the Bombay High Court in 2026 have challenged approvals relating to the 937.077-hectare forest-diversion project, including the wildlife-clearance exemption dated 13 May 2026, environmental clearance dated 20 September 2025 with a subsequent corrigendum, and Stage-II forest clearance dated 15 April 2026.The petition raises questions concerning tiger-corridor identification, scientific evidence, wildlife-clearance requirements and the legality of the approval process.These matters remain allegations and legal questions requiring adjudication; the existence of litigation does not itself establish illegality.However, the seriousness of the issues makes independent scrutiny unavoidable.VJAS demands that all relevant wildlife maps, National Tiger Conservation Authority communications, forest-diversion files, site-inspection reports and approval conditions be placed in the public domain.If any clearance was obtained through suppression of material ecological information, misleading declarations or deliberate disregard of statutory requirements, it must be suspended or revoked and responsibility fixed on the officials and beneficiaries concerned.
4. JSW Steel's mega-project: Who owns the land and who receives the benefits?
The JSW Group's proposed integrated steel investment in Gadchiroli has been publicly associated with approximately ₹1 trillion (₹1 lakh crore) in investment and potential steelmaking capacity of 25 million tonnes annually.Reports in February 2026 described an MIDC land-acquisition proposal covering approximately 3,000 hectares across 14 villages in Chamorshi taluka.Earlier locations and land requirements, including the Wadsa area, have also featured in discussions about the project.VJAS demands a complete public account of all sites examined, land acquisition proposed or initiated, affected villages, compensation arrangements and changes to project locations.
The government must answer:
- How many families could lose agricultural land or customary access to forest resources?
- What are the anticipated industrial water requirements?
- What percentage of employment will be permanent and reserved for eligible local residents?
- What is the projected burden on roads, rivers, air quality and public infrastructure?
- Will independent social-impact assessments precede land transfers?
- Will affected Gram Sabhas receive full project documents in languages they understand?
“If the land belongs to farmers, the minerals belong to the public and the water belongs to local communities, why should corporate profitability become the overriding measure of development?” Tiwari asked.
5. Indigenous cultural survival is not negotiable
Gadchiroli's Gond, Madia and other Adivasi communities maintain relationships with forests that extend beyond economic dependence.Forests contain sacred sites, ancestral memory, medicinal plants, traditional food systems, cultural practices and community institutions.Industrial displacement can destroy cultural continuity even when monetary compensation is offered.The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, and the Forest Rights Act, 2006, provide important safeguards that must be applied according to their respective statutory requirements.VJAS demands independent verification of Gram Sabha proceedings, community forest resource rights, forest-rights settlement, consultation and consent requirements, rehabilitation arrangements and the protection of sacred sites.The Supreme Court's Niyamgiri-related decision concerning the Dongria Kondh community offers a particularly important example of the legal significance of religious and community forest rights.“For an Adivasi community, a sacred forest is not an interchangeable commercial asset. Destroying that forest may mean destroying an irreplaceable part of its collective identity,” Tiwari said.
6. The September earthquake: A warning requiring scientific investigation
On 3 September 2026, the National Center for Seismology recorded a magnitude-3.6 earthquake in Gadchiroli district at a depth of approximately 10 kilometres.VJAS does not claim that mining caused this earthquake. No such causal relationship has been established.However, the event underscores the need for a comprehensive geological, geotechnical and seismic-risk assessment of large-scale mining and blasting operations.The assessment must examine fault structures, slope stability, blasting vibration, groundwater changes, mine-waste storage, industrial infrastructure and emergency preparedness.“We must not wait for a major industrial or geological disaster before asking whether sufficient precautions were taken,” Tiwari warned.VJAS demands independent investigation involving the Geological Survey of India, National Center for Seismology and competent disaster-management authorities.
7. Water, air pollution, mine waste and public health: The hidden costs of industrialisation
The environmental debate must go beyond forest clearance.Large-scale mining and steelmaking can create cumulative pressures through groundwater abstraction, surface-water diversion, particulate emissions, industrial effluents, ore transport, tailings management and land degradation.For the wider Surjagarh-linked industrial programme, proposed beneficiation capacity, waste streams and water requirements must be assessed alongside mining operations rather than separately.VJAS calls for publication and independent verification of all relevant water budgets, including figures associated with proposed large-scale beneficiation and tailings operations.A district-wide environmental-health baseline must be established before further expansion.This should cover respiratory health, drinking-water quality, occupational exposure, maternal and child health, agricultural productivity and the cumulative effects of industrial traffic.“Industrial profits are calculated in corporate balance sheets. Who calculates the cost of polluted drinking water, damaged farmland, lost forest livelihoods and disease among vulnerable communities?” Tiwari asked.
8. Chief Minister Fadnavis and Co-Guardian Minister Jaiswal must answer questions about corporate influence
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also serves as Gadchiroli's Guardian Minister, and Co-Guardian Minister Ashish Jaiswal bear significant political responsibility for ensuring transparency and public accountability in the district.VJAS demands an independent examination of possible conflicts of interest involving public officials, project proponents, intermediaries, land transactions and related entities.Tiwari has sharply questioned whether the government's conduct reflects public-interest administration or excessive accommodation of powerful corporate interests.“Has Maharashtra's government become so closely aligned with the commercial ambitions of major steel corporations that environmental safeguards and Indigenous rights are being treated as administrative obstacles?”VJAS is not asserting that any named minister has been proven to receive improper payments or possess an undisclosed financial interest.It is demanding disclosure and investigation wherever credible grounds exist.Any established corruption, regulatory manipulation or illegal favour must result in appropriate legal proceedings.
9. Pro-corporate economic policies must not override constitutional democracy
The Gadchiroli controversy exposes a larger political question about India's model of resource-led industrialisation.Investment announcements, mineral extraction targets and industrial production are repeatedly presented as evidence of economic success.But economic growth cannot be measured solely by the capital invested or the tonnage extracted.It must also be judged by the protection of natural resources, distribution of benefits, quality of employment, public health, community participation and long-term ecological sustainability.Articles 21, 39(b) and 48A of the Constitution, read alongside the Fifth Schedule and applicable environmental legislation, underscore the public responsibilities involved.The principles of sustainable development, precaution, polluter pays, public trust and intergenerational equity must guide government decisions.“A political economy that socialises environmental destruction while privatising mineral profits is not inclusive development. It is the transfer of ecological wealth from vulnerable communities to powerful commercial interests,” Tiwari declared.
10. Opposition parties must turn isolated objections into sustained accountability
VJAS also questions the adequacy of the broader political opposition's response.Some opposition leaders have raised objections to the tiger-corridor controversy. However, isolated statements are not a substitute for sustained legislative scrutiny, public hearings and coordinated legal action.Tiwari called upon the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party factions, other opposition parties, tribal representatives and independent legislators to place the entire Gadchiroli mining and steel-development programme under rigorous public examination.“The destruction of an ancient forest cannot become a subject on which political parties speak only when convenient. Silence, selective criticism and political compromise will not protect Indigenous communities,” he said.
11. International environmental and human-rights organisations must examine Gadchiroli
VJAS appeals to international environmental organisations, Indigenous-rights advocates, scientific institutions and United Nations human-rights mechanisms to examine the Gadchiroli controversy.The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, international guidance on free, prior and informed consent, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights provide important standards for evaluating corporate responsibility.Organisations with experience in forest protection, extractive-industry accountability and Indigenous rights—including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Global Witness, Greenpeace, Survival International and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre—are requested to consider independent scrutiny of the available evidence.This is an appeal for examination, not a claim that these organisations have endorsed VJAS's allegations.VJAS also calls for the attention of relevant United Nations Special Rapporteurs and working groups dealing with Indigenous peoples, human rights and the environment, and business and human rights.International institutions should assess whether corporate environmental and human-rights due diligence is adequate for the scale of the proposed transformation.
12. Ten immediate demands
Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti demands:
Independent cumulative environmental assessment: Conduct a regional study covering JSW, Lloyds and all connected mining, beneficiation, steel, pipeline, road and infrastructure projects.
Suspension of further irreversible approvals: Place new forest diversions, expansion permissions and irreversible site activities on hold wherever serious unresolved legal or scientific concerns exist, pending independent review.
Review of 937.077 hectares of forest diversion: Examine the legality, ecological justification, wildlife implications and compliance conditions of the forest approvals.
Seismic and blasting safety audit: Commission independent geological, geotechnical, seismic and disaster-risk assessments.
Protection of Indigenous rights: Verify Gram Sabha processes, community forest rights, statutory consultation and consent requirements, sacred sites and rehabilitation obligations.
Public environmental accounting: Publish the regional water budget, air-pollution projections, tailings plans, waste-disposal strategy and carrying-capacity assessment.
Independent conflict-of-interest investigation: Examine credible allegations involving public officials, intermediaries, land transactions, regulatory decisions and corporate beneficiaries.
Health and cultural-impact assessment: Establish independent baseline studies covering community health, traditional livelihoods, cultural heritage and long-term social consequences.
Full transparency: Release project agreements, mining leases, environmental clearances, forest approvals, wildlife assessments, compliance reports and relevant official correspondence.
Legal accountability: Where violations are established, pursue suspension or cancellation of unlawful approvals, environmental restoration, compensation and appropriate proceedings against responsible parties.
Kishor Tiwari's final warning
“The forests of Gadchiroli cannot be bulldozed into corporate balance sheets. The ancestral lands of Adivasi communities cannot be treated as disposable industrial real estate. The tiger corridors of central India cannot be sacrificed for short-term mineral extraction.”“Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must answer a simple question: Is his government the trustee of Maharashtra's natural wealth, or merely the facilitator of corporate access to it?”“We are not against industry, steel production or employment. We are against industrialisation that proceeds without ecological limits, constitutional safeguards, community participation and public accountability.”“The future of Gadchiroli belongs first to its people and to generations yet unborn. Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti will pursue every lawful democratic and judicial remedy necessary to defend that future.”
Issued for circulation to Indian and international news organisations, environmental researchers, Indigenous-rights advocates, human-rights institutions and public-interest legal networks.
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