Days after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) sought speeding up of green clearances of pending projects and regular follow ups with State Governments, the Union Environment Ministry on Tuesday said it has decided to review their status to expedite the process.
In a statement issued here, the Ministry said that it will hold a meeting with all nodal officers, regional officers and project proponents in this regard.
The ministry has also decided that all Expert Appraisal Committees (EACs) will hold at least two meetings in April and May this year for the appraisal of projects, with special emphasis on those pertaining to different ministries.
The decision was taken after a meeting chaired by Environment Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha last week.
“Special Secretary in the Ministry R R Rashmi will hold a meeting, in which all officers concerned from the Ministry, nodal officer, regional officer and project proponents will be invited.
“The meeting will review the cases where the projects have been apprised by the Expert Appraisal Committees and recommended the grant of Environmental Clearance, but are being held up because of Forest Clearance-Stage I,” the statement added.
The issue of pending projects in the want of green clearance in the country was discussed in mid-March in a meeting of PMO’s project monitoring group (PMG).
The PMG’s mandate includes fast tracking approvals for setting up and commissioning large public, private and -public-private partnership projects.