The 12-member Group of Ministers (GoM) on coal that is trying to settle the controversial “no-go” issue has decided to set up a committee under Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi to suggest a way out of the ongoing environment-versus-development imbroglio.
The committee will have a mandate to look into the legality of existing forest clearance norms, issue of Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index (CEPI) and forest regeneration in mined-out areas. The decision to set up the committee was taken in the last meeting of the GoM on June 9.
Confirming the development, Chaturvedi told Business Standard: “A formal notification for the formation of the committee is likely to be issued on Tuesday. It will be a three member committee chaired by me and will have secretaries of coal and environment ministries as members.”
The GoM had, however, decided to include power and finance secretaries, too, as members. “Other members, if needed, will be invited,” said Chaturvedi. The committee will submit its recommendations to the ministerial panel within six weeks of its formation.
“The GoM felt that some areas, where there was a question of rules and amendment in norms, need to be looked at in depth before the GoM takes a final call. Therefore, it was decided to form this committee,” said a senior official close to the development.
The idea was to have an independent exercise done on conflicting positions by different ministries over the environment cost of economic development. The inter-ministerial tussle began last year when the environment ministry, headed by Jairam Ramesh, announced the controversial no-go policy barring mining activities in heavily forested areas in nine coalfields with a production potential of 660 million tonnes.
The move was followed by a moratorium imposed by the environment ministry on development projects in 43 industrial clusters labelled “critically polluted”. Seven coalfields – Chandrapur, Korba, Dhanbad, Talcher, Singrauli, Asansol and IB Valley – fall under the CEPI moratorium.
The environment ministry has also issued two circulars recently: The first mandating a firm coal linkage for environmental clearance infrastructure projects and the other mandating forest clearance before processing environmental clearances applications for projects.
Apart from deciding to set up the Chaturvedi committee, the GoM had also decided to fastrack clearances on priority basis for eight projects in line with the recommendations of a different committee appointed by the PM earlier this year.
