Congress MLAs staged a walkout from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Friday (December 5, 2025), the last day of the Winter Session, in protest against the felling of around 6 lakh trees for a coal block of the Adani Group in Singrauli district.
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In the House, MLA Vikrant Bhuria, national president of the Adivasi Congress, raised the issue with an attention motion and said “massive tree felling” was going in various villages like Dhirauli, Amreli and Birkuniya, alleging that the tribal population was being “deprived of their rights to give benefits to capitalists and coal mining”. The issue led to a heated exchange between the treasury and opposition benches.
The government, however, refuted the allegations with Minister of State for Forest Dilip Ahirwar saying that trees were being cut as per rules of the Centre and the State, and that the same number of trees were being planted at different locations.
Mr. Bhuria, an MLA from Jhabua, said, “Permission from the Gram Sabhas is being obtained through coercion and intimidation, a judicial inquiry into this matter is necessary. PESA [Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act], the FRA [Forest Rights Act], other laws are also being violated throughout the district. Approximately 6 lakh trees are likely to be felled. 1,398 hectares of forest land in the Dharauli block is being deforested. This large-scale deforestation in this district is impacting water sources and displacing villagers.”
