The completion of the Rs 44,605 crore-project will boost agricultural production in the area and provide relief from water crisis, the chief minister said in a statement.
The proposed Bunder diamond block in Madhya Pradesh has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The diamond mine project, which is now with Aditya Birla Group, is facing protests over ecological concerns.
The project is facing stiff resistance, including social media campaigns. 2 hours ago A group of youth from Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, protested in the Buxwaha forest by tying threads to trees. | Vinay Tiwari / Mongabay India
The proposed Bunder diamond block in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh has been in the news for the wrong reasons over the years. The diamond mine project, which is now with Aditya Birla Group’s Essel Mining & Industries Limited, is once again facing dark clouds due to protests over ecological concerns, as it could result in the felling of over 2,00,000 trees.
The proposed project will be spread across an area of 364 hectares in the Buxwaha forests that is about 225 km northeast of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh’s capital. The block is estimated to have 34 million carats of rough diamonds. The National Mineral Development Corporation’s existing diamond mine is about 175 kilometres from Bunder.