Govt to speed up infrastructure development along China border
New Delhi: With an aim of speeding up defence infrastructure development along China border, the Environment Ministry will soon ease norms for clearances under a new policy that will give decision-making right to the states concerned. Once the policy is formulated, the Defence Ministry need not come to the Centre for environmental clearances for constructing border roads and strategically important projects coming within 100 kms of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday.
Under the new policy, the decisions can be taken by the state governments concerned without compromising on environmental concerns.
The policy will be framed in a manner in which a state government can take decisions on environmental and forest clearances for defence infrastructure projects, including roads, coming in the 100-km-range of LAC, Javadekar said.
The 4,056-km-long LAC with China touches four states– Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The decision to ease the norms on green clearances was taken after senior Defence Ministry officials headed by its Secretary R K Mathur met Javadekar at his office as several projects are held up for want of green nod. “Today we met with the Defence Ministry officials at their requests because lot of their projects were held up and were getting delayed approval. The issue was how to ensure that there won’t be delay. The answer is policy-based decision,” he said.
He said the meeting considered the status of pending Defence Ministry proposals for environment or forest clearance by the Environment Ministry.
Javadekar, however, said the states should not compromise on the environmental concerns while granting green clearances to infrastructure projects in the border areas. “But we will cut short the delays,” the Environment Minister said.
“We are evolving new ways of solutions to the existing problems of environment clearances, evolving policy-based solutions,” Javadekar said.
Referring to Wednesday’s “passionate speech” by Narendra Modi in the Rajya Sabha, he said the Prime Minister had mentioned environment protection and decisions based on policies.
“Delays in defence projects were due to case-by-case decision-making process. We’ll make policy decisions. Will put policies in place,” Javadekar tweeted after the meeting with Defence Ministry officials.
“Instead of case-by-case delayed method of approval, we’r making simpler, transparent & predictable process of approvals,” the Minister said. Javadekar said he will discuss the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and “the government will have that policy in place so that the clearances will be more on fast-track without compromising the environmental issues”.
He also tweeted on the issue of granting clearance to install a radar station at Narcondam in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
“In Narcondam & other areas will ensure complete protection of Nature including Hornbills. We won’t compromise on environment protection,” the Minister said in one of his tweets. (PTI)