Environmental, social, and economic impacts have been outlined in the ESIA:

• The ESIAs mention that 1,000 households will be displaced. In reality more people have been impacted. About 6,000 people have lost their land and homes. Issues surrounding displacement are critical due to the stark poverty of the area which has just one or two pakka (permanent) houses. A fact finding mission in 2014 has found that residents were not compensated, or compensated below the legally required levels. It also found that housing at resettlement colonies was not made available to all those facing eviction. The resettlement colonies were lacking in basic amenities such as water pumps and schools. 

• The ESIAs also show a general lack of planning and preparation for the social and economic impacts that will accompany the boom in construction in the project area. 

• They also gloss over the potentially severe impacts of water pollution and water scarcity in the project area that is heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture and has water supplies which the ESIA describes as only "generally potable." The Rihund Dam was built in 1962 for hydroelectric and irrigation purposes, but now the water is mostly used as cooling water for thermal power plants.

• Valuable irrigated agricultural land is being diverted to be used for the power plant, the ash pond or for mining overdumping, as happened around the Amroli village and with the Baiga people. Locals have complained that their drinking water is unfit for consumption due to material from the ash pond that is seeping into the groundwater supply.
  

The entire process of land acquisition has been marred with false promises and coercion. Procedures on land acquisition on the part of the company have been completely disregarded. Community's property has been destroyed before the clearance and acquisition processes were complete, as has happened in the village of Harrahaawa.

Land has been acquired from Adivasi, Dalit and "backward" communities at low prices. Families protesting the acquisition were arrested by the police to force the selling of land. The affected families have not been adequately rehabilitated. There has been a violation of Madhya Pradesh Rehabilitation Policy 2002 which stipulates mandatory employment in the project for one person of every displaced family. The rights of people were not recognised according to the Forest Rights Act 2006. There has been acquisition of land without proper consent from gram sabhas (local village communities).

Many families are still located in temporary housing and are still waiting to be moved to a permanent location.

Reliance is applying for carbon credits through the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), because it is "employing more efficient super critical coal technology." This represents a serious misuse of the CDM which is meant to stimulate investments in clean energy for sustainable development. The CDM Executive Board rejected a similar application for the first UMPP, the Tata Mundra in India. Clearly demonstrating that these projects are not the investments in sustainable development that are so desperately needed.

Although this project has been officially registered with UNFCC's Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board, there are many environmental impacts attached to this project. Ex-Im's initial hesitancy was the first sign of the environmental concerns. As stated by one Exim official: "the board felt that the environmental impact of the facility is such that they could not support it." And went on to say, "we were just looking at the size and scale of this particular transaction and the board feels it is not in good faith to proceed, given the projected adverse environmental impact it would have." There are a range of environmental concerns: from its contribution to climate change through the green house gas emitted through its outdated technological, to the local pollution it will cause:

• Green house gas emissions: As stated before, UMPPs are coal based power plants that produce around 4,000 megawatt, compared to an average coal plant which produces 500 megawatt, making them some of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Annual emissions are between 26-27 million tonnes of carbon dioxide for both the mine and local refinery. The plant will emit 832 grams carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour.

• Local environmental impacts: the pollution from production is likely to affect local water supply which will also have severe impacts on local wildlife. A fact finding mission carried out in 2014, found that plants near the coal conveyor belt contained a thick layer of coal dust. Material from the ash pond is seeping into the soil, contaminating the drinking water supply. Residents in the region have also been complaining of coal dust and coal ash being carried by the wind, affecting their health. 

• Deforestation: over 7,000 acres of forest land have been diverted for the mines.