Government changing 'environment of Environment Ministry': Prakash Javadekar

NEW DELHI: Claiming that the NDA government was "changing the environment of the Environment Ministry", Union Minister Prakash Javadekar today said he has taken steps to improve the work culture of its officials and ensure that it is no longer seen as a "road blocking" department.

The environment minister said that when the NDA government came to power six months back, forest officials were carrying on with "the negative legacy of a negative mindset" which they got from the previous UPA government.

But the NDA government is changing the "work culture" of the babus in the forest ministry and instructions have been given to them that development projects should not be blocked on merely simple, "technical reasons".

"It (Environment Ministry) was being treated as a road block ministry... We are changing the (work) culture.

"We are changing the environment of Environment Ministry itself," Javadekar said as he listed out the steps taken by him to remove hurdles created by the bureaucracy in clearing projects related to, among others, irrigation and various defence works in forest areas.

At a conference here organised by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India ( CREDAI), the minister further said, "Development without destruction and delay. That is our motto."

Referred to a case in which he had intervened to end the delay in the granting of clearances for a big development project in Andhra Pradesh even after it had been completed, he said, "You are talking about technical violations. Then who should be held responsible for violations of national interest. It is we, it is our ministry which has violated the national interest."

He said at the same time that his ministry has taken several steps to ensure transparency while considering projects for clearance. In order to bring more transparency, environment clearances can now be sought online, Javadekar added.