Jayanthi Natarajan hits back at critics

Says MoEF clearance is required in only 8% of projects

Former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan lashed out at her critics on Tuesday, saying it was wrong to blame her for the non-clearance of projects.

“There is not even a single file that is pending before me. Only eight per cent of projects that need environment clearance come to MoEF. The rest are cleared by the respective states and regional offices. Hence, it is wrong to state that I was sitting on projects with huge investment figures. Moreover, environment impacts have to be given priority in this ministry, not investment figures,” she said.

Natarajan was criticised for holding up projects worth Rs 10 lakh crore and for being barring clearance of projects that had been given the green signal by the Cabinet Committee on Investments.

An environment ministry official, who agreed with her claim said, “A Forest Advisory Committee meeting that was held after she resigned, had to leave empty-handed as we had no projects to be cleared.”