CB BureauIn an interesting revelation through an RTI, it is learnt that
the environment ministry has been approving projects almost at the same rate as
it did before environment minister Jairam Ramesh held reins and started his
environment activism.
The data provided by the ministry shows that the ministry in
Ramesh’s leadership has cancelled only six projects out of the 769 applications.
The ministry approved 535 projects while the rest are under consideration.
The approval rate of the ministry now is the same it was in A
Raja’s tenure. Raja was environment minister between 2004 and 2007.
Many environment activists consider Ramesh as their
flagbearer after he pulled big-ticket projects including Lavasa Lake City
Project near Pune, Vedanta Resources Aluminum refinery and Posco’s steel plant in Orissa for not complying with the environmental norms.
The numbers revealed also criticize Ramesh over his no-go
policy as 31 projects of the 58 projects considered by the expert appraisal committee were approved while the rest are being studied. So far, none has been rejected.
The RTI also reveals that there was no discrimination
between the projects in coal and non-coal sector. Of the 146 projects
considered in the non-coal sector, only three were rejected and 71 approved.
The ‘river valley hydro’ projects, too, have 100 per cent
approval rate.Of the eight projects considered, all were approved. These included
Polavaram Dam project in Andhra Project, which is now being opposed by both
Chhattisgarh and Orissa.
A report in Hindustan
Times states that since October 2010 there is no grievance redressal
mechanism for people against the approvals given by the ministry.
The National Environment Appellate Authority has been disbanded,
even as National Green Tribunal has been set up. The tribunal is not functional yet, as
none of its members except Chairman Justice Lokeshwar Panta have been appointed.