The Narendra Modi Government has picked up pace in giving several projects environment clearances, as it seeks to reboot the investment flow in the country. Data from the Ministry of Environment and Forests shows 30 projects have so far been given clearance since the new regime took charge on May 26.

The pace of providing project clearances significantly picked up in the last one month, since the Government completed 50 days in office.

In the first 50 days, only five projects were cleared and since then 25 projects were cleared.

The clearances were given for key projects such as coal mining at Chhatrasal for Sasan Power, Mahanadi for Coal India and the Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone at Mundra.

Oil and gas projects

Clearances have also been given for oil and gas projects by the Ministry of Defence. Currently, no oil and gas block is pending clearance by the Defence Ministry, Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Petroleum and Natural Gas, informed Lok Sabha on July 28. In the Chhatrasal block, which has 160 MT of reserves, three mines were allotted to Sasan Power, a special purpose vehicle of Reliance Power. Coal from the mine is expected to fuel Reliance power’s 4,000 MW plants in Sasan and Chitrangi.

The clearances will also help Coal India, which has been asked to raise output by Piyush Goyal, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy.

Constraints

Goyal recently told the Lok Sabha that projects worth ₹400 crore which would have added 50 MT in output had been stuck due to environment clearances.

“A total of 20 coal projects, each costing ₹20 crore and above, could not be started due to constraints of land acquisition and environmental clearance in Coal India Limited or its subsidiary companies,” Goyal said. Various ministries working together has provided a fillip for clearing more projects.

“This Government is not working in silos. We are working together to provide clearances quickly and boost investment,” Goyal told a recent industry meet at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

With various ministries working together, the Central Government is also keen to simplify the process of obtaining environment clearance.

After a meeting of Minister of Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar, the Minister of Mines and Steel Narendra Singh Tomar, and Piyush Goyal it was decided that small mining projects with less than five hectares won’t require Central Government clearance.

In order to streamline the process, the Government has also decided to introduce new online forms for submission of application for an environment clearance.

Despite the positives, the challenge in front of the Ministry of Environment and Forests is now to clear the 425 projects awaiting environmental clearance. Nearly 40 per cent of the pending projects are industrial projects.

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