The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Violence broke out in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo forest on Thursday (October 17) as residents attempted to prevent authorities from cutting down trees. Several villagers, 13 police officers, the deputy collector and a revenue department employee sustained injuries during the clash, the Indian Express reported.
The dispute arose over the felling of trees near Fatehpur and Sali villages in Surguja district, part of the Parsa coal block project awarded to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL).
According to government sources, around 5,000 trees in the area need to be cleared across six villages. Residents gathered at the site the night before to prevent authorities from going forward with the project, prompting the deployment of around 400 police and forest department personnel.
Surguja Superintendent of Police Yogesh Patel rejected claims that the violence was triggered by a police lathi charge, saying that the villagers initiated the attack. One police officer, constable Bholaram Rajwade, suffered a serious leg injury after being hit by an arrow and was taken to Raipur for treatment. Despite the presence of security forces, the tree-cutting was halted.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government for using force against the tribal residents. He highlighted a resolution passed during the Congress government in Chhattisgarh to protect the Hasdeo forest, which had support from the BJP at the time. He accused the current government of disregarding the rights of the tribal communities.
“The attempt to forcibly embezzle the forest and land of the tribals through violent use of police force in Hasdeo Aranya is a violation of the fundamental rights of the tribals. During the Congress government in Chhattisgarh, a resolution was unanimously passed in the Assembly not to cut the Hasdeo forest – ‘unanimous’ means the combined consent of the opposition, i.e. the BJP too. But, as soon as they came into government, they neither remembered this proposal nor the plight and rights of these original inhabitants of Hasdeo,” he wrote on X.
All India Congress Committee general secretary Priyanka Gandhi also expressed solidarity with the protesters and said, “The tribals, who have been the owners of the forests for centuries, are being evicted so that Adani ji’s mines can operate.”
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Sanjay Shrivastav insisted that the government would only proceed with the consent of the local people and assured that measures would be taken to protect their interests. “The BJP government’s stand is very clear. The people there must get proper provisions so that they do not face any kind of losses. The government will give attention to this,” he said.