07 January,2026 08:32 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Aaditya Thackeray. File Photo
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pushed for a mining project near a wildlife sanctuary despite being told by authorities that the area is part of a tiger corridor and that the venture would lead to man-animal conflict.
The iron ore mining project cited by Thackeray is located at Lohardongari near the Ghodazari Wildlife Sanctuary in Chandrapur district in eastern Maharashtra.
In a post on X, Thackeray said the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) had briefed the Chief Minister that the area is an important tiger corridor and wildlife corridor, and that the project would increase human-animal conflict, but the CM still pushed ahead with the plan.
The former state environment minister alleged that the BJP was intent on destroying natural ecosystems across the country.
"Today, the State Board for Wildlife approved a proposal that opens up a mining project in Lohardongari near the Ghodazari Wildlife Sanctuary⦠but the CM pushed ahead with the plan," Thackeray said in his post.
Thackeray said the mine would generate only 120 jobs, of which just 32 would be permanent, and produce 1.1 million tonnes of output annually.
"There is no study available on the influence it will have on the wildlife and the forest, but the BJP loves hacking down forests," he alleged.
Thackeray also flagged the approval of minutes from an earlier meeting that allowed mining in Marki-Mangli near the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, calling it another tiger corridor.
"Interested to see how the CM pitches this at the Mumbai Climate Week and to global agencies that will attend it," said the Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA from Worli.
The Vidarbha region, which has sent several elected representatives to the BJP, is being environmentally destroyed through coal washeries, mines and deforestation, Thackeray alleged.
"Then the government gaslights citizens about human-animal conflict," he remarked.
