PMO mediates to resolve environment and road ministries standoff

NEW DELHI: The prime minister's office (PMO) has stepped in to resolve the standoff between the environment and roads ministries over green clearances to highway projects, which had prompted the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to approach the Supreme Court.

NHAI, in its January 9 petition, had said that companies were walking out of projects as delay in clearances for diversion of forest land was holding up environment approval for the entire project. As a result the developer could not begin work even in the non-forest areas of the project.

At a meeting called by the PMO on Tuesday, officials from the roads ministry said the petition would be withdrawn if they were given an unconditional assurance that environmental clearance for a road project would not be linked to the approval for diversion of forest land needed for building the road.

Environment ministry stressed that the clarity has already been given through an office memorandum, making the petition unnecessary. On January 7, the environment ministry amended the guidelines under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 to exempt linear projects like roads and railways from the requirement of startin construction only after forest clearance has been granted.

"The clarity is already there. The NHAI should withdraw its petition. The ministry will submit the January 7 order to the court," a senior environment ministry official said. The environment ministry has made it mandatory for project developers to provide an alternate alignment that doesn't involve diversion of forest land, as part of its original application.