The environment ministry?s short-term embargo on all port development projects has scuppered the plans of shipping minister GK Vasan to modernise and expand 20 ports across the country.

Of these, he had promised to award six projects under the National Maritime Development Programme within 100 days of taking charge. With investments estimated at Rs 3,320 crore, the projects were to be taken up in 2009-10. But before work orders for any of these could be awarded, the environment ministry imposed its three-month moratorium on August 21.

?The environment ministry has placed a moratorium on clearances to new and old port development projects on the recommendation of a committee headed by MS Swaminathan. We will take up the issue with the Cabinet and other authorities,? shipping secretary APVN Sarma said on Tuesday at an Assocham meeting. Unless the moratorium is lifted, work on the projects cannot commence at least until the end of November.

Sarma held a high-level meeting on Monday and decided to take up the matter with the environment ministry. ?We have decided to talk to the environment ministry, asking it to at least clear the projects announced under the 100-day agenda, as that is a politically sensitive issue,? another senior official in the ministry told FE.

The environment ministry has argued that liberal approvals for port capacity expansion had damaged the country?s coastline and a cautious approach is needed for granting approvals. ?How are we concerned about the 100-day agenda of the shipping ministry? We also have our own agenda,? a senior environment ministry official told FE.

The environment ministry has conducted a satellite image survey of the entire country and is currently analysing the quick results. ?We won?t give clearance to a proposal falling in the ?hot? spots,? the official added.

While the shipping ministry has accepted that the environment ministry would appraise all expansion projects in future, it wants the moratorium to be lifted for projects already at an advanced stage of clearance. By 2012, the UPA government hopes to increase the capacity of all ports by 1.5 billion tonne.

The Swaminathan committee report had suggested that the government immediately ?study the cumulative impact of individual projects on the coastline, pending which there should be a moratorium on expansion of existing ports and initiation of new projects along the coast?.