It?s been a busy week at the environment ministry, even by the standards set by Jairam Ramesh. More important, there seems to have been some softening of stance. Perhaps the impending Cabinet reshuffle was a cause?
There was the imperious order to demolish Adarsh in Mumbai. Many welcomed it. Others said the process of hearings wasn?t gone through, nor any thought given to what happens to genuine investors who were not to know adequate permissions hadn?t been got, or the ones got were not kosher. The case will go to court so nothing much can be expected in the short run.
The week was action-packed as far as Lavasa was concerned. The ministry stuck to its original view that the hill station near Pune came under its jurisdiction and not that of the Maharashtra government?the company is contesting this. But while many expected the ministry to stick to its demand for status quo (the ministry had to eat its words when it asked that status quo ante be restored, which meant demolishing houses and even cutting lakhs of trees planted by the developers), it spoke of allowing the hill station to continue provided a penalty, as yet unspecified, was paid. The promoters of Lavasa have challenged this, but the change in stance is palpable.
In another first, the minister met Vedanta group chairman Anil Agarwal on Monday to discuss issues relating to Vedanta Aluminium?s refinery expansion in Lanjigarh and bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa. While there are speculations about the content of the meeting, Ramesh has made it clear that he is open to discussion. Vedanta is likely to make a fresh application for the alumina refining project in Lanjigarh, which was rejected for violation of green laws.
On Wednesday, Ramesh addressed a CII meet where he said he could be more accommodative, and was supportive of the industry view that pre-clearances could be sought for some projects in much the same manner the power ministry got for the ultra mega power projects. None of this is to suggest Ramesh is giving up on his green concerns. It?s just that he has signalled that he?s willing to work with industry. A good example is the Navi Mumbai airport where his ministry initially rejected the airport. Later, discussions were held, and the airport was cleared after both sides agreed to changes.