The Environment Ministry has cleared over 200 projects in the past six months. While Gujarat heads the list of green approvals with 52 projects, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of pending projects at 33.
According to sources, environmental clearances would be further sped up for the modernisation of the country's railway network and meeting the target of doubling coal production in the next five years.
According to sources, 232 projects have received environmental clearances from the Ministry in the May to November 2014 period. Prominent amongst the big ticket multi-crore projects include expansion facility for Nirma Industrial Project in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. While the project had got TOR in October 2010 it eventually received the environment clearance in August 2014.
Another major project was Adani Port and SEZ limited project in Kutch. It had sought clearance for a multi-product SEZ and CRZ clearance for desalination, sea water intake, outfall facility and pipeline at Mundra area. The project got clearance in July 2014.
One of the most ambitious projects of Gujarat Government the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) spread across 920 sq km has been recommended for environmental clearance by the expert appraisal committee of MoEF
Following the list of approvals in Gujarat, 33 projects have been cleared in Andhra Pradesh, followed by 19 in Maharashtra, 18 in Madhya Pradesh and 15 in Rajasthan.
However, as per MoEF]s data, over 320 projects are still awaiting clearance from the Ministry. As many as 73 projects were cleared from January 2013 to December 2013. With Tamil Nadu heading the list in this regard, Andhra Pradesh follows with 25. There are 24 pending projects in Himachal Pradesh, 23 in Rajasthan, 21 in Odisha and 20 in Jharkhand.
When it comes to categories, the maximum number of 141 projects is pending in the industrial sector. Next in queue are 132 mining projects, including coal and other minerals waiting for the green light. Of these, 46 pertain to coal mining alone. The third crucial sector is that of hydel power with 29 pending projects.