A coal mine gets caught breaking the rules… and keeps digging anyway.
That's the twist nobody saw coming.
Here's the setup.
MAHAGENCO — Maharashtra's state power company — runs the Gare Palma Sector-II coal mine in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district.
The mine is actually operated by Adani.
And its environmental clearance has been fighting for its life since 2022.
2022: MAHAGENCO gets its Environmental Clearance.
January 2024: The National Green Tribunal quashes it. Reason? Deficient public consultation. NGT tells the Environment Ministry to redo the hearing — "afresh."
August 2024: The Ministry grants a brand-new clearance...
without holding a fresh public hearing.
Instead, officials just re-watched old videography of the earlier hearing.
Same homework. New submission date.
On July 24, a Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant wasn't fooled.
The verdict: "afresh" means afresh.
Not recycled footage. A real, new public consultation.
So the NGT's approval? Struck down.
But here's the part that stuns everyone:
👉 The mine keeps running anyway.
The Court ruled there's "substantial compliance" already — so halting operations isn't necessary while the paperwork catches up.
This isn't just a legal technicality.
Gare Palma II has already seen:
And now, the machines run on a clearance that's technically flawed.
Justice, delayed and conditional.
The Supreme Court has handed the file back to the NGT, ordering it to:
The NGT was told to take this up on August 3 — just two days from now.
So the coal keeps moving.
The paperwork races to catch up.
And India's environmental clearance system shows, once again, how procedure and reality don't always march in step.
That's all for now!
