By IANS,
Raipur : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has asked the industry department to take a tough stand against 14 mining companies that failed to fulfil their commitment of planting saplings, an official said Sunday.
The industry department is now planning to cancel the mining leases of the companies, both public and private, blaming them for “environment neglect”.
“The government has taken a serious note of consistent failure of 14 companies to plant saplings along roads and in areas where they are responsible for environmental degradation due to mining of iron ore or coal,” an official in the industry department told IANS.
The official said the chief minister had asked the industry department to consider cancellation of mining leases of industrial houses because they were committed to promote greenery but failed to honour their promises.
Extensive mining has caused massive deforestation in Chhattisgarh. In 2007, various companies planted saplings in just 110 km of area against a target of 391 km.