Prakash Javadekar took charge of the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change on Thursday determined to get rid of the “policy paralysis” of the former UPA-II Government. Shortly after his take over, he launched the new system for online submission of applications for environmental clearances.
This, according to him, will not only speed up the course of clearance but also ensure transparency in the process. Javadekar has taken over the green ministry after it was abruptly galvanized to action following nearly two years of hibernation.
His predecessor Verrappa Moily had taken over the Ministry from Jayanthi Natarajan in December last year. Much to the alarm of the green lobby, he gave green signals to nearly 100 projects worth nearly Rs1.5 lakh crore in his tenure. These include high-profile and controversial projects as POSCO steel plant in Odisha and Tawang dam in Arunachal Pradesh. As a result, the number of stalled projects was cut down considerably during his term.
However, Javadekar is still saddled with a legacy of 4,678 projects that are held up in various stages of forest clearance besides 450 projects awaiting Environmental clearance from the various sectors of coal, industries, infrastructure, mining etc. By launching the online process of application, he sent the signal to the development lobby that policy paralysis will not be allowed to creep in. He stressed “there will not only be real time monitoring at every stage of the application, but the whole idea is to prioritize the adherence to timelines”. He allayed the fears of the industrialists on the much talked about “Jayanthi Tax”, with “No Tax”. He further added that similar online application process will soon be launched in case of forest clearances.
However, even as he was laying out the development agenda, the new minister was careful not to ruffle the feathers of the environmental activists.Harping on the hackneyed rhetoric that development and environment protection go hand in hand, he pointed out that while development is essential for the present to eradicate poverty, it is important to save the environment for future generations. He even hyped of making environment protection a mass movement.
To hammer his point further, Javadekar stressed on the Ministry’s new nomenclature, with the significant addition of climate change. “India has to present its case on emission cuts and other issues very forcefully in various international fora”, he said.This includes the forthcoming Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), scheduled to take place in December 2015, in Paris.
Earlier in the day, the Minister met the officials to review the various issues and activities. He emphasised on changes in administrative mind set for greater efficacy. Accordingly, a half-day leadership motivation programme shall be held next week for the senior officials in order to instill this change. Experts will be invited to give lessons.