Readies E-Okay To Curb Delays, Mechanism To Be In Place For New Regime

The government is set to fix timelines for forest clearances and hopes to grant approvals in less than a year, compared to a much longer time period, under a new electronic mechanism proposed to be put in place around the time a new regime takes charge.

“In the past I was accused of being obsessed with trees, tigers, rivers...” Union Minister Jairam Ramesh has defended his decision to overrule the statutory and expert panel on forest clearances to

The National Green Tribunal has cancelled the clearance given by the then Union Environment and Forests Minister, Jairam Ramesh, to the Parsa East and Kante-Basan captive coal blocks in the Hasdeo-

The state Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has cleared construction of 14-kilometer long tunnel at Zojilla pass to ensure all-weather connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh.

THE empowered group of ministers (EGoM) for hydel power projects in Arunachal Pradesh will find it tough to get the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) on board for the proposed all-at-a-time clearance mechanism for supporting infrastructure projects.

According to sources, at the upcoming EGoM meeting the power ministry will pitch for a simultaneous process for environmental and forest clearances as well as the approvals for land acquisition and preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs) for supporting infrastructure projects like roads and bridges.

The government has decided to give firms, including JSPL and Tata Steel, more time to seek clearances from Environment Ministry and furnish proof on the same to Coal Ministry by December 1, failing

Jharkhand tribal villagers say their consent to operationalise coal block has been forged

In January, the Coal Ministry asked companies to show cause why coal blocks allocated to them should not be taken back for not starting production. Given the threat, companies have scrambled to get clearances in the last few months allegedly with the collusion of officials.

The state-run miner had received stage one forest nod in January this year, amid a series of clearances expedited by new MoEF minister M Veerappa Moily

Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) is hopeful of Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) granting the final forest clearance for its largest iron ore mine at Daitari by the end of March or in first week of April, enabling it to expand production from 0.6 million tonne to 3 million tonne a year.