After saying no, EC allows environment ministry to issue green clearances

The environment ministry had sought permission to environmental clearances while the Model Code of Conduct is in place

After first saying no, the Election Commission (EC) has allowed the environment ministry to issue green clearances during the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) period, according to a report in The Indian Express (IE).

On March 23, a week after the announcement of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, the environment ministry requested the commission to allow it to grant environmental, coastal regulation zone (CRZ), forest, and wildlife clearances, citing the precedent set during the 2019 general elections, the IE reported.

On March 28, the poll panel informed the ministry that the proposal “to grant general exemption till the completion of the election process cannot be acceded to". The environment ministry reiterated its request to the commission on April 2, stating that such clearances “involve a long process... spanning over more than a year” from the conceptualisation stage, according to the IE report.

A letter by the ministry said: “It would also be relevant to mention here that such clearances are not in any way related to sanction of new projects and in fact, the application for grant of the aforesaid clearances have been submitted much before the MCC came into force on March 16, 2024 and have been in process over the past few months.”

Saying that the commission had not objected when a similar clarification was sought in March 2019, the ministry’s April 2 letter requested the panel to “reconsider its stand”. On April 10, the EC wrote back that it “has no objection, from MCC angle” to the Environment Ministry’s proposal, the IE reported.

The ministry’s letter said the commission had previously raised no objections when a similar clarification was sought in March 2019. Therefore, it requested the panel to “reconsider its stand”.

The IE report said that on April 10, the EC responded, stating that it “has no objection, from MCC angle” to the Environment Ministry’s proposal.

An official from the environment ministry said, “The process of project proposal evaluation and clearances was exempted from model code restrictions even before the 2014 polls. The ministry thinks it is fit to take formal approval every time. If there was any confusion, the issue has now been resolved.”