If PM Manmohan Singh’s efforts to perk up India’s slowing growth are not quite paying off, the case of a 1,900 MW power plant cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) on Wednesday —12 years after it received all approvals — may provide a part of the answer.

The foundation stone of NTPC’s proposed plant at Chatra in Jharkhand was laid by then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999. But a relentless turf war all but put paid to Rs 250 crore invested by NTPC since 2000.

In the wake of the CBI raid implicating an officer of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in arranging green clearances for certain mining projects in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, the ministry has for now put on hold all projects associated with the implicated consultant.

Sources said a limestone mining project of Chariot Steel & Power located at village Raiboga in Sundergarh district has already been put on hold. The CBI had on January 16 recovered Rs 1.04 crore from a MoEF deputy director. He was arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 7 lakh to arrange environmental clearance for an Orissa-based power and steel company.

The coal ministry has received around 316 applications, including 235 from power sector and 38 from mining companies, with regard to 17 coal blocks to be allotted to public sector firms.

‘‘We have received 316 applications with regard to 17 coal mines to be allocated to government companies/undertakings,’’ a government official said. ‘‘Of the total applications the coal ministry received, 235 are from power companies and 38 from mining firms. The remaining applications are either incomplete or have been withdrawn,’’ the official added.

Jharkhand has ranked third among all states in implementation of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and delivery of services and monitoring.

NEW DELHI: Air pollution is the fifth largest killer in India taking 6.2 lakh lives per year and Delhi is among one of the five most critically polluted regions in the country, a study by a US-based health institute has claimed.

The other four most critically polluted regions in the country are Ghaziabad, Gwalior, West Singbhum district in Jharkhand and Raipur, according to the study.

Days ahead of the first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Investment ( CCI), the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), the statutory body for advising on forest clearances, rushed to clear a little over 20 projects, including those in mining and power.

The CCI, set up to hasten big-ticket infrastructure projects, had its first meeting on January 31. According to sources, as many as 30 projects came for hearing before the seven-member FAC on January 21-22. Of the seven members, only three were present.

The Cabinet Committee on Investment ( CCI), in its second meeting, will take up for green nod Coal India Ltd’s (CIL) 20 projects with combined production capacity of 37 million tonne a year, which can fire more than 7,000 MW power generation capacity.

Besides, the CCI is also expected to examine environmental hurdles holding up the implementation of three rail projects which are critical for transporting coal from mines located in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has opposed the Forest Advisory Committee recommendation to divert over 500 hectares of land in Saranda forest division of Jharkhand for iron ore mini

The CBI is likely to question representatives of three state government-run public sector undertakings (PSUs) next week in connection with its probe related to the Coalgate scam.

According to sources, the state government PSUs who were allocated blocks include Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation Limited, West Bengal Mineral Development Trading Corporation, Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation and Maharshtra State Mining Corporation.