Maharashtra clears Gadchiroli mine despite tiger maps

Maharashtra on May 13 exempted a Lloyds Metals & Energy project in Gadchiroli from obtaining wildlife clearance, according to official communications reviewed by The Indian Express. The project covers 937.077 hectares, or about 9.4 square km, of reserved and protected forest land for iron ore extraction and processing in Etapalli taluka. The same proposal had already received forest clearance on April 15 and environment clearance on May 12, the newspaper reported. The dispute now centers on whether the site sits inside a recognized tiger corridor and whether the state could lawfully waive a wildlife review. ### What exactly did Maharashtra clear? The Maharashtra government approved diversion of 937.077 hectares of forest land in Gadchiroli in early May for Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited, according to reports citing the state order. The land is to be used for excavation and recovery of low-grade iron ore near Hedri, Bande and Parsalgondi villages in Etapalli, and for related processing infrastructure. (indianexpress.com) The Indian Express reported that the project file describes forest compartments 196, 197, 273, 274, 275, 276, 298, 300 and 301 as part of the proposal area. The newspaper said the state’s May 13 communication treated the project as outside any tiger corridor and therefore exempt from separate wildlife clearance. ### Why are tiger maps at the center of the dispute? (news.steelbazaar.com) The Tiger Conservation Plan for Tadoba-Andhari, sanctioned by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, identifies all but one of those listed compartments as part of the Tadoba-Indravati corridor, according to The Indian Express. That is the core factual conflict in the case: the state said the project was not in a corridor, while conservation maps cited by the newspaper place most of the land inside one. (indianexpress.com) Punekar News, citing official documents and conservation maps, also reported that the project lies in a corridor linking central Indian tiger habitats. That account aligns with the newspaper’s description of the corridor overlap, though the underlying legal question would depend on how regulators and courts treat the maps and the project record. ### How did the approvals move through the system? (indianexpress.com) The Union environment ministry granted final forest approval in April 2026 after the proposal had moved through regulatory channels from March 2024, according to Devdiscourse. The Indian Express separately reported that environmental clearance followed on May 12, one day before the wildlife exemption. (punekarnews.in) PARIVESH, the federal clearance portal, lists environment ministry meeting records for the relevant period, including 2025 and 2026 sessions tied to project appraisal processes. Public reporting on those records says the Gadchiroli proposal advanced through both forest and environmental review before the state said no wildlife clearance was required. ### What are conservationists and critics contesting? (devdiscourse.com) The Indian Express said conservationists dispute the state’s claim that the project is outside a tiger corridor. Their argument, as reported by the newspaper, is that bypassing wildlife clearance for land shown on approved corridor maps raises both legal and ecological questions. (environmentclearance.nic.in) The Tribune reported last year that the project site falls in a tiger corridor and could require large-scale tree felling. That earlier account described the same proposal as a private mining project in a forested, conflict-affected part of Gadchiroli. ### How does this fit into Lloyds Metals’ broader expansion? Lloyds Metals has been expanding its footprint in Gadchiroli through mining and steel-linked investments. (indianexpress.com) Separate reports in 2025 said the Union environment ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee recommended environmental clearance for an expansion of the company’s Surjagarh mine from 10 million tonnes per annum to 26 million tonnes per annum. (tribuneindia.com) The 2026 forest diversion order adds raw-material access for those wider plans, according to reports on the state approval. Public accounts of the project describe Gadchiroli as central to the company’s mining and steel production build-out. ### What happens next? Any next step is likely to come through court filings, fresh representations to the environment ministry, or demands for a wildlife review based on the corridor maps cited in the reporting. (educationpost.in) The key documents are the May 13 state communication, the April 15 forest clearance, the May 12 environment clearance and the project maps naming the affected forest compartments. (indianexpress.com) (news.steelbazaar.com)