The Centre has lifted a moratorium on environment clearance for new industries in 'highly-polluting' Haldia and Asansol after "pollution controlling norms" were complied with, West Bengal Environment Minister Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar said here today.
The sectors that fell under the ban include oil and gas exploration, refineries, petrochemicals, power, coal washeries, mining, steel, metals, cement, coke oven, asbestos, leather processing, chemical fertilisers, pesticide, distilleries, paint, pulp and paper, sugar, ports, airports, highways, industrial estates and biotech parks.
The moratorium had been imposed by the Union Environment and Forest ministry when it was headed by Jairam Ramesh and the Left Front was in power in Bengal.
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The objective behind the ban was to compel "critically polluted areas" to come up with plans to address the problem.
The moratorium on new polluting industries was initially put in place from end-2009 to August 2010, but with a rider that it would be lifted only if the states drew up remedial blueprints.
In Bengal- Haldia, Asansol and Howrah figured in the list.
"We thank the Central government for lifting the moratorium on setting up new industries in Haldia and Asansol which would give a tremendous boost to new industries in the region at a time when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was keen to attract new investment and industries and the government have announced a slew of fiscal sops in its industrial policy", the minister told PTI here.
"The lifting of the moratorium would help us to attract investment in sectors closely identified with these two industrial towns of Haldia and Asannol", he said.
He claimed that the decision to withdraw the ban was taken after the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) had improved.
