CEE Oct-Dec 2012

-c. laying of transmission lines and distribution lines and removing of boulders, gravel and sand, should be regulated, he said . Courtesy: The Economic Times, 2~ Sep. 2012, P12. ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY Dt:.NIES SITIING ON Minister accuses developers ofsubmitting incomplete plans The Ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) will stick to its norms and criteria for evaluating projects and has rebuffed claims by the industry that delays in green clearances are obstructing projects, such as coal mining. Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan says her ministry has not held up any mining project. "There is a perception that projects are being held up in the environment ministry, but let me make this clear, there is hardly any approval that is pending with the ministry. This perception is demonstrably wrong," said Natarajan. "There are, however, cases where the project proponents have not submitted proper information , or are yet to provide the environmental management plan. There are 27 manuals but still project developers fail to provide all the requisite information". Officials said that until June 2012, the ministry has cleared coal mining projects which would yield 1,009 million tonnes (MT) per year. Projects yielding another 67 Mt annually are in the process of being cleared. "The ministry has given clearances to more than the production target for the Eleventh Plan. As a matter of fact, we have given clearances that would meet most of the Twelfth Plan target as well," said a senior ministry official. The target for the Eleventh Plan was 554 MT of coal a year and that for the Twelfth Plan has been set at 715 MT annually. The ministry is under pressure to expedite approvals, including forest clearances. The finance ministry had suggested that for speedier forest clearances, the MoEF should consider setting up "three or four forest advisory committees". The MoEF says that the suggestion is unnecessary and unworkable. "First, there is no pending work w ith the Forest Advisory Committee. Second , the Committee's meetings and deliberations have to be chaired by the director general of forests. So, even if there is more than one panel , it would still require the presence of the chief forest official for any decisions to be taken," explained a senior official. The Forest Advisory Committee is a key statutory body which considers questions on the diversion of forest land for non-forest uses such as mining, industrial projects, townships and advises the government on the issue of granting forests clearances. The ministry proposes to demand accountability from project proponents. This is pertinent for large projects that seek large diversions of forest land and coal mining projects and where production lags the annual permissible amount. "Why should they be asking for clearances for new mines when they are not using what they have?" asked an official. Last week, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia announced that the proposed National Investment Approval Board wi ll help expedite environmental , forest and other statutory clearances for "nationally important" large projects. This board, which will have representatives from key ministries, will take a "holisti c" view and approve projects. However, it is feared that the board will overrule the recommendations of the environment ministry, as was the case with the Mahan coal block. Ministry officials say such plans will undermine the role of statutory environmental and forest approval processes. The ministry may suggest changes in the process of coal block allocations as well . "It is true that an officer from the environment ministry is present in the screening committee meetings, but that has little meaning . The environment ministry does not decide on its own whether or not a block can be mined , we have the environment appraisal committees and the forest advisory committee which makes these crucial decisions," explained a senior official. Though the coal ministry makes the allocation and gives it to a private developer, no mining can be done till the environmental and forest clearances are granted. As it stands, that process begins only when the developer applies for clearance. Courtesy: The Economic Times, 24 1 h Sep. 2012, P12. 4 1