A quick green nod: Modi govt to okay projects worth Rs 80,000 cr

In its early days, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government has already started making headway into matters stalled for long during the UPA regime. Minister of State (Independent charge) for Environment Prakash Javadekar on Thursday promised “fast clearance” for Rs 80,000 crore worth of projects. These comprise 28 projects, including SAIL and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam in the public  sector, and those of Essel Mining and Grasim in the private sector, said an Indian Express report. [caption id=“attachment_1549663” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of new Minister of State (Independent charge) for Environment Prakash Javadekar. AFP[/caption] Javadekar also said the government would give full consideration to ecology conservation while approving the aforementioned projects. Additionally, the projects will now be “cleared without their having to travel to the Cabinet Committee on Investment set up by the previous UPA government to fast-track project clearances,” said the Indian Express report. Earlier, under the UPA government, the projects had been stuck at the approval stage, at the Centre as well as the state government levels. Jairam Ramesh, environment minister with the UPA government, had earlier in 2010 made it difficult for big projects to get any kind of clearances from his department. Meanwhile, Jual Oram, the tribal affairs minister, has said that he will not approve the Posco mining project in his constituency. He was quoted in an  Economic Times report stating that “he will oppose South Korean steel maker Posco’s mining project in his Lok Sabha constituency Sundargarh.” The mining lease is essential for this Rs. 51,000 crore project to go through. The Posco project is a Rs. 52,000 crore steel project in Odisha. For its go-ahead, the project requires a steel mining license. Posco has been waiting for close to 8 years to obtain this license, according to a report in The Hindu. Ramesh had granted Posco a forest clearance but the mining license is still under scrutiny. The Modi government, also, doesn’t seem in a hurry to pass the clearance. Javadekar, on the other hand, will deliberate over the SAIL 1 million-tonne per annum pellet plant at the Dalli-Rajhara mines in Chattisgarh, said the Indian Express report. SAIL is also looking at expanding its Bhilai steel plant. The projects together are an estimated Rs. 19,000 crore, the report said. Javadekar has guaranteed that he will undertake “quick decision making” and alter the “policy paralysis” of the previous government, said the report.