Major procedural amendments, including exemption from environment clearances, for roads projects are being proposed to the Cabinet Committee on Investment to achieve the UPA government's commitment

Amid West Bengal government's repeated appeal to lift moratorium on environment clearance in highly-polluting industrial regions of Haldia and Asansol, a top Environment ministry official on Tuesday said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) would take a decision on the same after evaluating the ongoing study in the region.

“The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has hired an independent agency to conduct a fresh study on all regions like Haldia and Durgapur where moratorium was imposed. The report is expected to come on March 15.

The newly-formed Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) is likely to approve automatic extension of environment clearances when it meets on Thursday, sources said. The move will not only do away with the tedious process of environment and forest clearance, but also free up over 65 million tonne (MT) additional coal annually, according to sources.

Last year, the environment ministry had made it mandatory for companies setting up projects to obtain forest clearance (FC) before applying for environment clearance (EC), where diversion of forest land is required. The guideline was later modified, allowing parallel processing for both EC and FC.

Now, environmental clearances have to be sought two years in advance

PANJIM: The Centre’s directive that all mining leases, due for renewal, have to apply for environmental clearance two years in advance of the expiry of the lease, could further complicate matters for the mining industry, as a majority of the mines in the State are up for renewal.

The State government has started the process of renewal of leases after the deemed renewal regime was practiced for so long.

The High Court yesterday directed the authorities concerned to immediately stop construction of six brick kilns in Dumuria upazila of Khulna for the next six months.

The woes of investors in highway projects don't seem to end. The new guidelines issued by the environment ministry, allowing work on non-forest land while clearance for projects involving diversion of forest land is pending, are cumbersome and would not facilitate investments, developers feel.

According to official sources, the developers have written to the environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan, roads minister CP Joshi, NHAI Chairman RP Singh and the department of economic affairs in finance ministry, stating that the condition that in order to begin work in non-forest land, the user agency must explicitly provide for a “technically feasible alternative alignment” for segments that fall in forest land is too difficult to be complied with.

Mumbai: As many as 50 major infrastructure projects across the state have taken a hit after a directive of the union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to subject every mining work, irrespe

An environmental scientist’s arrest for granting clearance for a limestone mine in Orissa is the tip of the corruption iceberg that is floating freely in the environment ministry.

A cash stash of `1 crore was allegedly recovered from the Gurgaon and Rohtak premises of Neeraj Kumar Khatri, who works as a deputy director in the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).

The National Highways Authority of India has asked the environment ministry to clear 25 road projects that are stuck for want of approvals.