In a gazette notification on Thursday, the ministry amended the Environment Protection Act to drop mandatorily washing coal for supply to thermal power plants.
The minister further said that the rising sea levels can exacerbate the coastal inundation along the low lying areas during extreme events such as tsunami, storm surge and coastal flooding
The minister also said that under his leadership, the government has already reduced the number of days of granting environmental approvals from 640 days to 108 days
Involvement of the people is crucial for protection and conservation of environment, he said