Maharashtra gets active after PMO forwards complaint alleging compensatory afforestation land acquisition irregularities.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has directed the Maharashtra government to examine allegations of irregularities in the acquisition of compensatory afforestation (CA) land by Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Ltd (Mahagenco) for its Gare Palma Sector-II coal block in Chhattisgarh.
The action follows a complaint filed by Chhattisgarh-based activist Naresh Chandra Gupta. Acting on the complaint, the PMO referred the matter to the Maharashtra government, which has now sought a detailed report from Mahagenco. Officials said the inquiry will examine the allegations, supporting documents, statutory approvals and Mahagenco’s response before arriving at any conclusions.
According to the complaint, nearly Rs 110 crore was spent on acquiring about 214.869 hectares of private land required to secure forest clearance for the coal block through compensatory afforestation. The complainant has alleged that several land valuation and certification records relied upon for the purchases carried only local-level revenue endorsements and lacked higher-level verification. It also claims detailed historical title verification of the land parcels was not undertaken before acquisition.
The complaint further alleges that some land parcels were linked to interconnected entities, had previously been used as solvency assets in commercial contracts, and that questions remained over the present physical status and traceability of certain parcels.
It also claims that several records contained identical site maps despite relating to different survey numbers, raising concerns over the authenticity of the documentation and whether proper ground surveys were conducted.
Questions have also been raised over the Expression of Interest (EOI) process, with the complainant alleging that notices were published in low-circulation newspapers, limiting public participation. The complaint additionally alleges that some participants lacked the financial capacity to aggregate such large land holdings independently and that several transactions were routed through power-of-attorney arrangements and intermediary entities.
Mahagenco has categorically denied the allegations. The utility said suitable government land was unavailable, necessitating the purchase of private land on the advice of forest authorities. It clarified that around 530 acres of CA land were acquired for approximately Rs 93 crore—not Rs 110 crore as alleged—through registered sale deeds after obtaining all necessary approvals.
Mahagenco further said the EOI was published in government-empanelled newspapers in Raigarh and Raipur and hosted on the websites of Mahagenco and its consultant, attracting four proposals. It maintained that land valuation was carried out as per applicable norms, the land received a suitability certificate from the divisional forest officer and a no-objection certificate from the district collector, and was later transferred to the forest department before being notified as Reserved Forest by the Chhattisgarh government in December 2022.
