Click to play videoNew Delhi: Jairam Ramesh is a Minister who is acting tough and making it clear that he takes his role as a watchdog of the forest and environment clearance process seriously.
"The rate of acceptance is unnaturally healthy in the MOEF. I have been returning cases particularly those that relate to large scale diversion of forests," he said.
He has now imposed new conditions for those seeking clearances for projects related to environment and forests.
- Copy of environment clearance letter to be made public by project proponent
- Half-yearly reports to be furnished on the status of compliance of environmental conditions
MOEF is also proposing many new initiatives, like the launch of a National Green Tribunal and a public portal which will give status of projects pending clearance.
"I would like to see a healthier rate of rejection, which means we are doing our job," says Jairam Ramesh.
Since 2006 the Environment Ministry has cleared over 1,000 projects while rejecting only a handful. With the new Environment Minister now acting tough, the latest move could perhaps be one step closer to saving India's forests from large scale diversion for infrastructure projects.
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