India, Aug. 5 -- Chhattisgarh has recommended 1,742 hectares of forest land diversion in the Hasdeo Aranya, one of India's last remaining old-growth forests in the state's Surguja district, for coal mining in the Kente extension coal block, triggering a political row over ecological concerns.

An official said that the Sarguja divisional forest officer recommended the diversion on June 26, following a site inspection, and the proposed move could result in the felling of over 600,000 trees.

Environmental groups, the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan and Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, condemned the move and demanded its immediate withdrawal, citing a 2022 assembly resolution to halt coal mining in Hasdeo.

Forest rights activist Alok Shu...