Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Under attack,both from within and outside the government,for allegedly slowing down industrial growth by delaying the process of granting environmental clearances,Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan on Friday sought to clear her name.
In an unusual move,her ministry issued a factsheet on her first year at the helm of the Ministry of Environment and Forests saying that she had granted environmental clearances to 209 project proposals implying that she had not really slowed down projects at the clearance level. She said that at present,her ministry had zero pendency but insisted that her focus has been that all the various sectors utilise the green clearances that are lying unutilised.
On the other hand,the factsheet also seeks to refute the criticism that there has been wanton diversion of forest land thanks to green signals to various projects,mainly mining.
It says that during her tenure from July 13,2011 to July 12,2012,she granted forest clearances to 1,126 proposals translating into diversion of 15,639 hectares of forest land,which is only 44 per cent of the annual average rate of diversion (35,775 hectares per annum) during the 32 years of the existence of the Forest (Conservation) Act,1980.
Earlier this week,Natarajan had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raising objections to the proposed National Investment Board,which would act like a final appellate body for all sorts of project clearances.
