Rahul shares industry's concern on delay in environment nod

On a day Jayanthi Natarajan resigned as Minister for Environment and Forests, Rahul Gandhi today shared the industry's concerns over delays in clearance of projects including on environmental issues.
"Many of you have expressed your frustration with environmental clearances that are delaying projects unduly. There is excessive administrative and judicial discretion.
"The loopholes are so big you can drive a truck through some of them!
"Environmental and social damage must be avoided, but decisions must also be transparent, timely and fair," the Congress Vice President said addressing an industry meet.
Gandhi's remarks assumes significance in the context of surprise resignation by Natarajan, against whom there have been complaints from the industry of holding up clearances.

However, Natarajan claimed that she has resigned to do party work in view of the coming Lok Sabha polls and therefore she requested the Prime Minister to accept her resignation.

"I would like to work for the party," she said.
Replying to the problem of environmental clearances delaying projects, Gandhi said the biggest problem is absolute arbitrary powers at all levels of the system.
"This is what we face.... In India, there are lot of arbitrary powers. The Environment Minister or the Chief Minister can take any decision he wants," Gandhi said.
"The real issue in all these things, whether land acquisition or environment it is arbitrary power," Gandhi said, while advocating the need for eliminating the system of "arbitrary powers".

He said the "paradigm" in the country has changed and in this scenario, "we have to build rule-based structure.... We have to get used to the new paradigm. We have to move away from the arbitrary idea that a Chief Minister and an Environment Minister can do anything.