The Alakananda coal mine, allotted to Rungta Sons, spans 1,102 hectares including 754.04 hectares of forest land, 91.2 hectares of government land, and 256.76 hectares of private land. According to reports from Business Standard, the coal block is located in the Talcher coalfield in Chhendipada tehsil and contains over 500 million tonnes of fossil fuel reserves. The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recommended Stage-I approval for diversion of 754 hectares of forest land for the project. The latest data shows the project involves diversion of 436.47 hectares of reserved forest and 316.21 hectares of revenue forest.
Environmentalists have raised serious concerns about the scale of tree removal, with 331,818 of the 334,408 enumerated trees within the lease area proposed for felling. As reported by Business Standard, nearly 99 per cent of the trees within the mining area could be cut, with the area located approximately 5 kilometres from the Similipal-Satkosia tiger corridor. Jayakrushna Panigrahi, working president of the Orissa Environmental Society, described the proposal as going far beyond routine forest clearance, stating that 'the number is staggering... The figures indicate that almost the entire existing tree cover within the lease area is proposed to be destroyed'. The FAC has directed that tree felling be phased and restricted to the minimum necessary, while also asking the state forest department and project proponent to explore transplantation of trees below 30 centimetre girth and relocate at least 50 per cent of such trees to suitable nearby sites.
The project involves displacement of 818 families and affects 1,584 families across five villages, raising concerns over loss of forest resources and traditional livelihoods. According to Business Standard, the FAC has directed the state government to implement rehabilitation and resettlement in line with the approved plan at the project proponent's cost. Environmental lawyer Sankar Prasad Pani noted that Chhendipada, regarded as the 'lungs' of Angul district, has seen a surge in coal mining approvals since 2020, with at least 30 coal mines allotted and five already operational, resulting in 100,000 trees felled.
The block was auctioned by the Ministry of Coal with Rungta Sons signing a coal block development and production agreement in October 2022 before the allotment was finalised in December 2022, as reported by Business Standard. The FAC has made wildlife clearance conditional on a regional wildlife management plan. The state government has argued that the coal block is site-specific because economically mineable coal seams lie beneath the forest. Environmental campaigner Prashant Kumar Padhi questioned whether transplantation and compensatory afforestation can offset the loss of a mature natural forest, stating that 'compensatory afforestation should not become a justification for the destruction of natural forests'.
