Last Updated on July 9, 2026 9:18 pm by BIZNAMA NEWS
AMN / NEW DELHI
The Congress on Thursday alleged large-scale irregularities in the approval process for a coal mining project in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district, claiming that fake Gram Sabha resolutions and forged thumb impressions of deceased villagers were used to facilitate mining in an Adani Group-linked coal block.
Addressing a press conference, Congress Working Committee permanent invitee K. Raju and Adivasi Congress president Dr. Vikrant Bhuria termed the alleged scam the “Singrauli Files” and demanded a court-monitored CBI investigation.
The party alleged that RTI documents and death certificates show that forged Gram Sabha records were used to obtain statutory consent for Stratatech Mineral Resources Pvt. Ltd., an Adani Group company, to undertake mining in the Dhirauli coal block. Bhuria claimed that the thumb impression of Brijbhan Singh, who died in 2014, appeared in a Gram Sabha register dated November 2021, while Phuleshwari Singh, who died in 2018, was also shown as having participated in the proceedings. He further alleged that several other deceased persons’ thumb impressions were similarly used and that tribal leaders who usually signed official documents were falsely shown as having affixed thumb impressions.
Raju accused the BJP government of violating the Forest Rights Act, the PESA Act and land acquisition laws by bypassing mandatory Gram Sabha consent in Scheduled Areas. The Congress demanded FIRs against officials and companies allegedly involved, suspension of mining operations in the disputed coal block pending investigation, and a court-monitored CBI probe into the alleged forgery.