Procedures for green clearances to be simplified: Govt

Promising development without destruction of environment, the government today said it would simplify procedures for green clearances while stepping up efforts to get Rs 35,000 crore, stuck in litigations, released for afforestation.
Replying to a discussion on the demands for grants of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the amount of Rs 35,000 crore is blocked in litigations and the government would strive to release a major chunk of it to the states.
The demands were later approved by the Lok Sabha.
He also assured the Lok Sabha that the government would focus on "development without destruction of environment".

The Minister said the government would ensure that major chunk of the money under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) would be distributed to states.
Noting that the priority is to simplify procedures without destructing the environment, Javadekar said, the government plans to convert degraded and barren forests into dense, green forests. "... That is our committment," he added.

On recommendations made by Kasturirangan and Madhav Gadgil committees with respect to Western Ghats, Javadekar assured that no decision would be taken "without holding consultations with (concerned) states".
"We will look at the ground realities before taking any decisions," he noted.

Listing out measures initiated by the new government to expedite environmental clearances, the Minister said, "we have to take development and environment protection at equal level".
The government has made the processes for environmental and forest clearances through online.