The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and the company officials, who came to hold a public hearing for a manganese mine in the Guguldoh forest, faced huge opposition from the locals. The villagers literally pushed the officials out of the hearing. Therefore, the public hearing was wrapped up in a mess and the authorities had to take steps to end it.
A contract has been awarded to a private company to start a manganese mine in the forest of Guguldoh in Ramtek taluka on 105 hectares of land. This forest is a part of the corridor connecting Pench Tiger Reserve and Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve and there is a fear of cutting more than 2 lakh trees in the forest in this project. Locals including environmentalists have strongly opposed the project as it will adversely affect the water bodies, fodder and wildlife habitats in the area.
The people representatives of all parties have also supported the villagers and opposed the project. This was evident from the public hearing organized by MPCB at Guguldoh on Monday. Local citizens and people’s representatives protested strongly and created chaos. So the public hearing could not be completed.