Maharashtra Clears Lloyds Metals Mine, Official Maps Show Project Lies In Tiger Corridor
The controversy centres around a proposal involving the diversion of 9.4 square kilometres of forest land for iron ore extraction and processing. On May 13, Maharashtra’s Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) M Srinivasa Reddy exempted the project from obtaining wildlife clearance, stating that the site was not located within or near any notified tiger corridor, sanctuary, national park, or tiger reserve.
However, documents reviewed by multiple media reports reveal a different picture.
According to project maps submitted by Lloyds Metals to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the mining area falls across forest compartments that largely overlap with the Tadoba-Indravati tiger corridor, a wildlife movement route identified in the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)-approved Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP) for the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. All but one of the listed forest compartments match those identified within the corridor.
Adding to the contradiction, Lloyds Metals itself reportedly described the project location as a “Tiger Corridor” in its wildlife clearance application submitted in March 2024. Despite this, the project was later granted an exemption from wildlife clearance requirements.
The project had already received forest clearance on April 15 and environmental clearance on May 12, just one day before the wildlife exemption was issued.
Following questions raised over the exemption, Chief Wildlife Warden Reddy reportedly said that the decision was based on information provided by officials from the forest department and that he would verify the matter if discrepancies were found.
The case has also revived a wider debate over how tiger corridors are defined and protected in India.
Tiger corridors serve as ecological linkages that allow animals to move between protected habitats, helping maintain genetic diversity and reducing habitat fragmentation. Conservationists have long argued that mining, large infrastructure projects, and industrial development within these landscapes can severely disrupt wildlife movement. NTCA guidelines generally discourage mining activity in such ecologically sensitive zones.
The latest controversy comes amid ongoing discussions within wildlife and forest departments over corridor classifications. Reports indicate that recent administrative interpretations have narrowed the definition of recognised tiger corridors, creating confusion over which areas require statutory wildlife clearance and which do not.
Environmental concerns surrounding mining projects in the larger Tadoba landscape have been raised repeatedly in recent months. Conservationists have warned that industrial activity in these forested stretches could impact wildlife movement between Tadoba-Andhari, Gadchiroli forests, and Chhattisgarh’s Indravati landscape, while also increasing the risk of human-wildlife conflict in an already sensitive region.
The approval has now placed the Maharashtra government under scrutiny, with questions being raised over whether wildlife safeguards were bypassed despite official conservation plans identifying the area as part of a critical tiger movement corridor.
