Adani Group refutes social media claims over alleged tree felling near Bhimashankar Temple

Adani Group dismissed social media claims linking it to tree felling near Maharashtra’s Bhimashankar Temple, saying it has no projects nearby. Separately, Adani Enterprises reported planting over 1.6 million trees across 568 hectares at its Chhattisgarh mining site 

Ahmedabad: The Adani Group has refuted social media claims linking the Group to alleged tree felling near the Bhimashankar Temple in Maharashtra’s Pune district, calling them false and misleading as they have no project in the area.

In a statement posted on X, a company spokesperson said the videos circulating on social media linking Adani Group to alleged tree felling and displacement near the Bhimashankar Temple are “false, misleading and fabricated”. “The group has no project, proposed or ongoing, in the area or its vicinity, and is in no way associated with the activities depicted in the circulating videos,” according to an Adani Group spokesperson.

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“We strongly urge everyone to verify facts and refrain from sharing false and unverified content,” the spokesperson added.

The Adani Group statement came in response to misleading social media posts.

Meanwhile, Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) has planted more than 1.6 million trees and saplings across 568 hectares at the Parsa East and Kanta Basan (PEKB) mine in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district, transforming the area into a green landscape. Once an active mining site, the area has now been transformed into a lush green landscape.

Under the ecological restoration, 40 trees are planted for every tree removed for mining activities. Native species, including Sal, Mahua, Tendu, Amaltas and Sidha have been replanted, with the company reporting a survival rate of about 88 per cent. AEL operates the mine as developer and operator for Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RVUNL).

According to officials, its greening project has demonstrated how mined land can be restored after coal extraction. It aims to increase the green cover to more than 4 million trees by the end of the decade.

The Adani Group has also developed a 3.5-hectare nursery, housing about 5,00,000 saplings and achieved successful regeneration of Sal forests in the area.

According to officials, it has undertaken compensatory afforestation across more than 4,000 hectares in the Surguja, Korea, Balrampur and Surajpur forest divisions, while over Rs 259 crore has been deposited with the Chhattisgarh government towards afforestation, wildlife management and other environmental measures.