Former Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan has left behind a legacy of pending clearances during her 28-month tenure. Clearances for 3,827 projects are pending at various stages with the Centre/State Governments. As many as 372 projects related to coal, mining, and infrastructure building are held up for want up of Environmental Clearance.
The experts, however, resent the choice of Oil and Natural Gas Minister Veerappa Moily as interim Environment Minister, due to conflict of interest that his Ministry often had over green issues. According to official figures, the issue of Environmental Clearance has held up 74 coal projects, 91 mining projects — including that of limestone, bauxite, sandstone etc — and 117 industrial projects pertaining to cement, chemicals and drug sector.
Total number of Hydro electric power projects pending is 24 while 20 thermal power projects are stuck for want of green nod. About 66 infrastructural projects related to construction of roads, ports etc are held up due to both Environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance. The list of projects languishing due to forest clearance includes those from Defence, Railways, mining, roads among others. Proposal in favour of Oil India limited for Petroleum Mining lease in Arunachal Pradesh is pending since 2007 for diversion of 54,066 hectares of forestland in Namsai and Nampong Forest Divisions of the State.
The fate of controversial 3,000 MW Dibang Multipurpose Project involving diversion of 5,056.50 hectares of forestland on Dibang River in Arunachal is hanging in balance since 2011. Other proposals include prospecting uranium mining projects in Chhattisgarh, calling for diversion of 3,000 hectares of forestland since 2008. According to the official figures, maximum number of projects awaiting clearance is from the mining sector.
Among the worst-hit in the clearance delays is Coal India limited (CIl) affecting 241 projects of this coal producing company of the country. While there are 48 proposals related to EC having capacity of about 109 MTPA (Million tonnes per annum) 193 forest proposals are awaiting clearances either at the MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) or at the State levels.
According to sources, the stakes involved in the power sector are to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore. Prominent among those include 1,000 MW Nellore Power Project of Meenakshi Energy in Andhra Pradesh. It has applied for extension of the Environmental Clearanc granted for the second phase of its power plant that expired on July this year.
The other stranded is the 1,980 MW imported coal-fueled thermal power plant at an estimated cost of Rs 8,600 crore at Nayachar Island in District Purba Medinipur, West Bengal by the Universal Crescent Power Private limited. While the process of land acquisition has been completed, the company is stuck in the process of acquisition of Environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Clearance. In both the cases, the Ministry of Power has reportedly approached the CCI to take up the matter with the MoEF.