A government panel has said the 'Go, No-Go' concept of forest area classification for clearances tocoal blocks is legally not tenable and should be abandoned.
The environment ministry's ban on mining in areas of thick forest cover has locked away millions of tonnes ofcoal reserves. According to the power ministry, coal shortage is likely to hold up new power projects of over 17,000 mw aggregate capacity. This has triggered debate among the ministries of coal, power and steel on the 'Go, No-Go' concept's merits.
The panel, set up by an inter-ministerial committee to consider the efficacy and legality of forest clearance procedures, has said the concept has no legal standing. The panel is headed byPlanning Commission member B K Chaturvedi and has representatives from power, coal and finance ministries.
"The above policies are mandated neither under Forest Conservation Rules, 2003 nor under any circular issued by the ministry of environment and forests. The ministry of law and the Attorney General have confirmed the position that it is not consistent with the current provisions," the committee said in its report.
In 2009, theenvironment ministry had placed the country's forested areas under two categories - Go and No-Go - and imposed a ban on mining in the 'No-Go' zones on environmental grounds.
Based on this categorisation, the ministry has barred mining in 203 coal blocks that hold 660 million tonnes reserves and 1,30,000-mw electricity generation potential, as they fall in the 'No-Go' or dense forest zone.
Shortage of coal in the current fiscal is projected at about 83 million tones, which is expected to cross 200 million tonnes by 2013-14.
The committee has also recommended amending the environment ministry's directives on banning coal exploration in certain industrial clusters and securing forest clearances before mining.
In November last year, the environment ministry had barred development in some industrial clusters because the pollution index had risen above the permitted level of 70. Coal India suffered a production loss of 19 million tonnes due to the moratorium.
The ministry's March 31 circular said coal companies could start mining in the non-forest area of a mine only after obtaining environment clearance. Earlier, securing forest clearance was necessary before mining the forest portion. Coal ministry has said this directive would impact Coal India Ltd's production by 11.5 million tonnes in the current year. The Chaturvedi committee suggested that the coal blocks should be taken up for mining unless there is a strong case for rejection on environment grounds.
The committee also suggested having a single-window approach by setting up nodal agencies with representatives from various departments of a state. Another recommendation was giving incentives to state forest departments that process cases quickly. Acquiring forest clearances takes three to six years, against the stipulated timeframe of 360 days.
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