Chief ministers of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala agreed on Monday there could be a case for allowing state governments more leeway in giving environmental approvals, with Madhya Pradesh?s Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Kerala?s Oommen Chandy pointing out that delays in clearances were stalling economic growth in their states.
While Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan called for a debate on giving more powers to states, especially in environmental clearances for industrial projects, Chouhan and Chandy listed projects that were held up because they hadn?t received environmental clearances from the Union environment ministry.
The chief ministers were participating in a discussion at the World Economic Forum?s India Economic Summit on ?The new role of states: Catalysts for growth?, moderated by Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, The Indian Express.
Chavan said: ?Whether environmental clearances for industrial projects should be given by state governments or the Centre is a debate we should have.? However, he also said that ?states have had a poor track record in protecting the environment, especially in mining projects where state governments get royalties?. A week ago, the Centre had prevailed on Maharashtra to file a criminal case against Lavasa Corporation for allegedly violating environmental laws.
Terming the five-hectare limit for projects that can be cleared by the state government inadequate, Chouhan said getting clearances from the Centre is often next to impossible. ?The coal blocks and the go-no-go policy have caused critical delays in power projects because coal is not available. We have irrigation projects stuck for nearly 20 years on account of not getting forest department clearances,? he said.
Chandy said the Athirapally hydropower project on the Chalakudy river had been awaiting clearances since the earlier government pushed for it. ?There is some ground, no doubt, but the Centre has been adamant about it,? Chandy said.
Agreeing that the focus had shifted from the Centre to the states in terms of investments and opportunity, the chief ministers were unanimous that sharing best practices and policy innovations will be key to growth, even while promoting competitiveness among states.
The discussion brought up views on the decentralisation of power to the district level, assistance and quick responses from the Centre to states? grievances, putting economic considerations ahead of political compulsions as well as growing self-assurance in the states.
Gupta observed that chief ministers had grown in power over the years, and that the country?s continued 7% growth, at a time when the western economies were on the brink of recession, were the result, in large measure, to good governance in states. He pointed out that chief ministers who had delivered economic growth had typically been voted back to power ? between 1989 and 1998, 77.5% of all state governments were replaced in an anti-incumbency trend, one that has seen a complete reversal over the years. ?This is a positive change in Indian politics,? Gupta said, adding it had enabled long-term planning and implementation.
Agreeing that there were political benefits in ensuring economic opportunity for citizens, the three chief ministers also mentioned various initiatives to adopt innovation from other states. Chouhan described his efforts to convey to all chief ministers the success of Madhya Pradesh?s Public Service Delivery Guarantee Act, while Chandy said he sent a team to Andhra Pradesh soon after assuming office to study the Arogyashri health insurance scheme. He said Kerala is also keen to replicate the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor from Kochi to Coimbatore. Even as Chavan declined to admit that Gujarat may have advanced ahead of Maharashtra in terms of industrial development and investments, he said state government officials are studying a Gujarat scheme of water conservation through building farm ponds for possible replication in Maharashtra. ?We are completely open to ideas even from BJP-ruled states,? Chavan said.