Limited MoEF role on cards to ensure speedy clearances

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra of “maximum governance, minimum government” is likely to be implemented in letter and spirit in the ministry of environment, forests and climate change.

Though BJP leader Prakash Javadekar will take charge of the ministry on Thursday, sources indicated that the new dispensation favours limiting the ministry’s ambit to policy making.

The ministry has already initiated the process of moving to a system of routing forest clearances through an electronic platform, a detailed project report for an e-filling system to improve efficiencies.

Sources in the environment ministry stressed that the speedy clearances would not undermine the environmental laws and regulations. The decision to limit the ministry’s role to policy making would be in keeping with the Supreme Court order asking the government to set up an independent environment regulator, which would deal with project appraisal and monitoring.

This is also in line with former environment minister Jairam Ramesh’s efforts to transfer the project appraisal and monitoring functions to an independent authority. Environment ministry sources also indicated that the government was keen to ensure speedy approval for pending projects. “All projects will be categorised and cleared based on strictly laid out criterion,” an official said.

One of the major complaints against the UPA-II government was the inordinately long time taken for clearances, resulting in the holding up of projects and development activities, particularly in the last two years.

“Projects will be assessed according to set out criterion,” the official stressed in an effort to indicate that the move will not mean indiscriminate clearances for industrial projects. Sources indicated that there is some thinking about reviewing norms set out for projects as well.

“Sometimes a project is held up because there is a bird sanctuary near the project site, say as in the case of the Navi Mumbai airport, but there are no birds in the sanctuary, then should be still stick to the set norms. There has to be some rationalisation,” the official said.