Green ministry is no more a roadblock: Javadekar

Timelines for environmental and forest clearances are being brought down and processes made transparent, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said today seeking to exorcise the image of "roadblock" his ministry had gained during the previous UPA government.

But the new minister does not want to indulge in any blame nor his ministry has the exact financial estimate of the loss or the worth of the projects which were kept pending for clearance during the UPA government.

Javadekar suggested that the approach of his predecessors in the ministry had caused a "loss of face" to the nation as it was seen as "speedbraker" to development and foreign investors had started leaving the country.

He told PTI that he has inherited thousands of pending files as legacy from the previous UPA government and the monetary damage it caused is "innumerable".

Promising to speed up the green clearances processes, he said, "decisions are in, delays are out".

Talking about the steps already initiated, Javadekar said, "we will bring down the timeline. For environment clearance, two months we have already decided. For forest clearnace also at that stage. There are two stages. ToR and final clearance.