'Decision on Kasturirangan panel report will not be in haste'

The Centre will consult all the stakeholders concerned before taking any decision on the Kasturirangan Committee report, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said here today.
"Our stand on the issue is clear. We want development but not at the cost of environment. We will consult chief ministers of seven states and also hold discussions with villagers concerned," Javadekar said.
The Kasturirangan panel has sought to balance the two concerns of development and environment protection, by watering down the environmental regulation regime proposed by the Western Ghats Ecology Experts Panel's Gadgil report in 2012.
The BJP leader said that the Narendra Modi government did not want to "sit on" the projects of national importance in the name of protecting environment.

"Protecting environment is no doubt important, but more important is ensuring security of our country. And that is why Modi government has cleared the proposal to set up a naval base in Karwar, which was awaiting Centre's nod for last three years, in just three minutes after holding discussions on it for thirty minutes.
"Similarly the government has also removed the green hurdles that have delayed sanction to the proposals on building 6,000-km of roads near Indo-China border," Javadekar said.
Javadekar, who also holds charge of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said that a proposal to convert Aakashwani stations which are functioning on the medium wavelengths across the country into FM (frequency modulation), is also under consideration.

In a dig at the ongoing churn in Congress over replacing chief ministers of some states, Javadekar said, "Whether Congress changes its chief minister in Maharashtra or not, the people have already decided to dislodge from power the ruling Democratic Front (DF) government in the upcoming Assembly elections.