Forest panel on project clearance spree

Days ahead of the first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI), the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), the statutory body for advising on forest clearances, rushed to clear a little over 20 projects, including those in mining and power.

The CCI, set up to hasten big-ticket infrastructure projects, had its first meeting on January 31. According to sources, as many as 30 projects came for hearing before the seven-member FAC on January 21-22. Of the seven members, only three were present.

Among those cleared were the Teesta (Sikkim) and Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) hydroelectric projects, stuck on forest clearance. FAC also gave a favourable recommendation for diversion of 998 hectares in the Ankua reserve forest in Jharkhand for JSW Steel, for mining of iron and manganese ore. (Click for table)

FAC is a statutory body advising the environment ministry on diverting forest land for non-forest purposes. Its recommendations are not binding. There have been instances when the ministry granted clearance to projects after overlooking what FAC had said.

When asked, a ministry official said, “There was no rush while granting the clearances. The ministry had taken a very objective view. For some of the projects, we had given a conditional nod, which means they have to abide by some stringent guidelines. The committee had to take a balanced view, wherein economic activity may be permitted to the extent possible and at the same time, conserve the natural resources.”

Non-government bodies allege increased pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office to clear pending projects could be a reason for such quick go-aheads.

Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People said, “Of the 30 projects that sought forest land, the FAC said Yes to 24, sought some information for four and said No to two due to Supreme Court directions and lack of guidelines from the ministry. Several of these proposals were not on the agenda or circulated, some were added at the last moment and several have been cleared against the norms accepted earlier by FAC. This is clearly unprecedented.”

Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan was travelling, so she could not be reached for comment. However, earlier in the week, she had said the department was looking at ways to hasten the process of clearance, without compromising on the principles.

"Every day, we are examining new areas by which we can streamline the process further, without compromising the quality of environment appraisal,” she had said.

With the debate over economic growth versus environment protection heating, her ministry was being blamed for delaying infrastructure projects. However, according to the data of the past 18 months, the ministry gave in-principle approval to 754 projects involving 18,204 hectares of land. In all, 74 proposals, seeking diversion of 1,554 hectares of forest land, were rejected by it.