We will give environment, forest clearances in 100 days: Javadekar

Says govt to implement bar code enabled system to end sand mafia in country

Union environment ministry has set a target to bring down the number of days it takes to give clearance, from current 190 days to 100 days in future. The ministry also said it is implementing a bar code enabled system to end sand mafia.

Prakash Javadekar, Union environment minister has said during Congress-led UPA government, on an average, it took about 600 days to give environment and forest approvals to a project and it has been brought down to 190 days by the BJP government.

"In one year, further improvement will be done by deleting delays and by standardising and making transparent process. Everybody are working round the clock and we will ensure approvals with adequate environment safe clause."

"We don't want to provide ease of doing business as usual, we want to provide ease of doing responsible business. I am committed to bring it down (days to give environment and forest clearance) to 100 from the current 190 days," said Javadekar.

On sand mining, Javadekar said Centre has come out with a sustainable sand mining policy and notification was issued 50 days ago.It is now the state governments have to implement the new sand mining policy, where they have to ensure that sand mining will be allowed only after satellite maps are available for where the sand is deposited how much sand is deposited, to that extent and from there only sand can be extracted.

Now the whole sand mafia through out the country operated because they take licence for 10 trucks but they take out 100 trucks.

Now the Ministry will insist that their has to be a bar-coded cheque-book-like receipt which cannot be tampered with and which can be used only once and which will be tracked by the computer network and a server so a full proof mechanism from the point of extraction, and quantity of extraction, to its end disposal. All has to be monitored, said the Union Minister.

The Ministry to hold a national workshop of all the officers who will be involved and responsible throughout the country on how to implement this. "We are making a revolution, we will end sand mafias. Now all state governments have to implement it," said the Minister.