The Coal Ministry has written to the Cabinet Committee on Investments (CCI) for streamlining granting of clearances by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) for various coal mining projects in the country.

The Coal Ministry has asked the CCI to consider parallel processing of environmental clearance (EC) and forest clearance (FC) for coal projects as in the case of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects. “Further, the issue of enhanced borehole density for exploration in forest areas without the need for seeking prior EC needs to be resolved urgently,” the Coal Ministry note states.

The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) awarded the contracts for the Lower Subansiri project even before receiving the clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) and

The project aims to maximise refinery margins at least by $1 a barrel

Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd (CPCL), a subsidiary of IndianOil Corp Ltd, has got environment clearance for its Rs 3,350-crore expansion project at the Manali refinery near here. Proposed two years ago, the project aims to maximise the refinery margins at least by $1 a barrel. It will produce more high value distillates and enable the company to process more of the cheaper high-sulphurous crude.

The green revalidation for the Korean major is stuck with the expert panel

Minister for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan has said the government has not firmed up its views on green clearance for the Rs 52,000-crore Posco project in Odisha. The expert appraisal committee (EAC) was yet to submit its report to her ministry. “It is only after they submit the report that we can think about the final clearances,” Natarajan told Business Standard.

The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) seems to be helping to raze green speed-bumps — ruffling the feathers of environment and tribal activists in the process — with environment clearances havi

The government today said 12 coal mining projects, entailing an investment of Rs 1,347 crore, has been identified for speedy clearances within a month.

Punjab has notified the minor mineral rules, which seek to streamline the process of supply in the State, with a thrust on adherence to environmental norms.

The steel ministry has asked the environment ministry to expressly revalidate the green clearance to Posco’s stranded steel project in Orissa “to avoid unnecessary noises raised by NGOs and anti-project entities.”

The ministry would also begin fresh talks with the Naveen Patnaik government to stress the need to hand over the land required for the proposed plant.
The South Korean steel company had inked a MoU with Orissa in June 2005 to set up a 12 million tonne integrated steel project in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district at an estimated expenditure of Rs 53,000 crore, but the project has been dogged with land acquisition issues.