After blackout,Envt Min rejects criticism over green clearance

Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan also said that her ministry is not a "stumbling block" in the path of sustainable economic development nor will it ever be.

She said the Ministry of Environment and Forests(MoEF) has granted clearance to generate 210,000 MW of power in the last five years.

The Minister's remarks came when her attention was drawn to reports that the main reasons for the unprecedented failure of three power grids yesterday, and for any problems in power generation, is the lack of green clearance to power projects.

"...The MoEF is not the reason or cause for power outage or any energy shortage. ...In most cases including coal, and thermal power projects, clearances given by the Environment Ministry far exceed targets, and even capacity projected for the future," she said in a statement here.

Dismissing media reports that several power projects are said to have been "stalled" due to want of environmental clearance, the Minister gave details of the reasons why enviromental clearance was not being given to some power projects.

Natarajan said that in the past 5 years, upto 2011, the MoEF has granted environmental clearance to 210,000 MW of power- that is 60,000MW more power than has been proposed until 2017.

"It would be a fundamentally incorrect proposition to blame the environment or the Environment Ministry for any energy shortages or developmental problem, because development and environment are not opposed or contradictory forces," she added.

"The MoEF strives to fulfil its mandate, and is not, nor will ever be a stumbling block in the path of sustainable economic development," the Minister added.