Fresh plans sought for no-go area projects

Projects of over two dozen corporates, including NTPC, Coal India, Hindalco, Essar and Adani, to be fast-tracked

Taking note of a formal end to the controversial ‘no-go’ classification of coal mining projects, the coal ministry has asked states to give revised proposals to the environment ministry for projects stuck in no-go areas. This would help redeem investment amounting to Rs 40,000 crore in key infrastructure projects in power, cement and steel sectors.

These projects had come to a standstill after the environment ministry, under then minister Jairam Ramesh, had announced the classification over a year ago. This had barred mining activities in major coal-bearing areas and blocked the development of 203 coal blocks, with reserves of a whopping 660 million tonnes (mt) — enough to fire a power generation capacity of 130,000 Mw. Blocks allotted to two dozen companies, including NTPC, Coal India, Hindalco, Essar Power and Adani, fell under the no-go zones.

In September, a 12-member group of ministers (GoM), headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had recommended doing away with the no-go policy, initially mooted to protect dense forest areas from the ill-effects of mining. The recommendation was based on a detailed report by Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi.

THE ‘NO-GO’ GHOST IN NUMBERS
Total coal bearing  area in India (sq km)	17,300
Total geological  coal reserve (BT)	277
Coal bearing area out of total forest area (%)	0.16
Power need met  by coal (%)	70
Total no of coal  blocks in India	602
No of blocks  identified in No-Go	203
Spread over in area(sq km)	3,039
Annual production potential (MT)	660
Equivalent power  generation capacity (Mw)	1,30,000
Source: Coal ministry

“In view of the GoM’s recommendation, it is requested proposals for forest and environment clearances which were rejected on the above account and proposals pending at various levels may be further processed and sent to the ministry of environment and forests for clearance without delay,” the coal ministry had said in a letter to state governments on January 27.

In the fifth meeting of the GoM on 20 September, in which Chaturvedi’s report was reviewed, environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan had agreed no-go should not be the basis for clearance or rejection of coal blocks. She had said the classification was an initiative of the coal ministry.

The controversy over no-go areas began two years ago after the coal and power ministries had approached the environment ministry to discuss ways to minimise delays in grant of environment clearances. To have an accurate assessment of the country’s coal reserves, a map of coal-bearing areas was superimposed then over the country’s forest cover.

The Chaturvedi committee had vehemently opposed the no-go policy, arguing the regeneration of forests after mining activities could be much more in the long run, compared to what might have been be temporarily lost. Chaturvedi had also cited the advice of the law ministry and the Attorney General and refutes the basis of the no-go policy. Apart from backtracking on the no-go policy, the environment ministry had also agreed to permit 25 per cent expansion in already-expanded coal projects without a public hearing, a recommendation of the Chaturvedi committee.