FE@CAMPUS MASTERMIND: Response by Ravi Shah to question for Jan 14-20

Yes, I believe Investments in India will pick up once environmental clearances start coming through.

The environmental clearance process is required for 39 types of projects and covers aspects like screening and evaluation of the upcoming project.

Industrial projects located in any of the following notified ecologically fragile/sensitive areas would require environmental clearance irrespective of the type of project:

• Religious and historic places

• Archaeological monuments

• Scenic areas

• Hill resorts

• Beach resorts

• Coastal areas rich in mangroves, corals, breeding grounds of specific species

• Estuaries

• Gulf areas

• Biosphere reserves

• National parks and sanctuaries

• National lakes and swamps

• Seismic zones

• Tribal settlements

• Areas of scientific and geological interest

• Defence installations, specially those of security importance and sensitive to pollution

• Border areas (international)

• Airports

This coupled with delays occurring because of unsatisfactory administrative arrangements, in place, to support the procedure for granting or refusing clearances is slowing the growth of India and scaring away investors.

In a recent debate on this issue our PM remarked that the Forest Conservation Act had emerged as the new "licence-permit-quota raj".

In a recent situation cited by the Finance Ministry regarding a power project, it stated that a power project requires coal linkages. The ministry of power consulted the ministry of coal. Since coal linkage requires environmental clearances, the coal ministry passed the buck to the MoEF.

Sometimes, the department of forests points to the National Wild Life Board. There are power projects that are languishing for

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