MUMBAI, May 5 -- The state government on Monday said it had secured the approval needed to hand over 937 hectares of reserved forest and protected forest land in Gadchiroli district to Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited (LMEL) for the expansion of its steel plant. LMEL, which has been mining and producing steel in Gadchiroli since 2023, will use the land to mine low-grade iron. LMEL operates a plant on 700 hectares in Gadchiroli, and the additional 937 hectares will aid its expansion, said an officer from the state mining department. In 2024, LMEL said it needed the additional forest land for its expansion plans. In February last year, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced an ambitious plan to develop Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district as the "green steel hub of India. A few months later, LMEL said it wanted to implement a massive expansion plan to convert iron ore into steel in Hedri, Gadchiroli. According to a state government order, the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change has given its final approval to divert 937.077 hectares of forest land in favour of Lloyds Metals And Energy Limited, in Gadchiroli. The order states that the company will use the land for the excavation and recovery of low-grade iron ore from adjacent existing mines in village Hedri, Bande, and Parsalgondi, in Etapalli in Gadchiroli district. "Now Government of Maharashtra hereby directs to divert this forest land to M/s Lloyds Metals And Energy Limited, Gadchiroli," the order states. The order further said that the chief conservator of forests, Gadchiroli, in consultation with the principal chief conservator of forests, will ensure that wildlife clearance is not required for the project, before actually handing over of forest land. The order further said that the chief conservator of forests, Gadchiroli, in consultation with the principal chief conservator of forests, will ensure that wildlife clearance is not required before diverting the land. However, Lloyds Metals And Energy Limited will have to seek all the necessary clearances, including wildlife compliances after it receives the land parcel....