Dear reader,

The Hasdeo Arand forest in north Chhattisgarh is one of India's largest contiguous forest landscapes. In 2011, after much debate, the Union environment ministry greenlighted a coal mining project in the forest on the grounds that the coal was needed to generate cheap power for Rajasthan. 

The mine, called Parsa East and Kanta Basan, had been allocated to Rajasthan's state electricity generation company, which formed a joint venture with Adani Enterprises and outsourced the mining operations to it. Although the mine is mandated to supply coal to Rajasthan, the terms of the joint venture agreement controversially allowed Adani Enterprises to sell “reject” coal from the mine.

Now, an investigation by Arunabh Saikia has revealed that Adani Enterprises is selling millions of tonnes of "reject" coal to three power plants owned by Adani itself, in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The company has claimed that the "reject" coal was of significantly lower calorific value, but data obtained through the Right to Information casts doubts over these claims. 

These findings raise serious questions about whether Adani Enterprises has unduly benefited from the terms of the mining agreement in Hasdeo Arand. 

While Common Ground is on a hiatus today, do read this long investigation here. 

You can support more such investigative journalism with a contribution to the Scroll Ground Reporting Fund.

Ajay Krishnan
Senior Editor