The minister's recommendation will now be considered by the group of ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on environment and coal issues at its next meeting. There has been intense pressure to open up the Mahan coal block. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had asked Ramesh to clear the proposal "on the grounds that it would boost economic activity in the state." Chouhan even cited the environment ministry's tardiness in giving clearance as an example of the Centre's alleged discrimination against the state. But the chief minister of the BJP-ruled state wasn't the only one exerting pressure to clear the project.
With Shashi Ruia of Essar and Kumaramangalam Birla of Hindalco routinely appealing to the prime minister PMO and the finance minister for "expeditious forest clearance", the Prime Minister's Office kept up the steady follow of letters to Ramesh. Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepped in asking Ramesh to "take appropriate follow up action" on the issues raised by Ruia. One factor supporting clearance was that the block had been allocated long before the "go/no-go" classification of forest areas became an issue. Read the full report here.
Source: ET Bureau, Economic Times, New Delhi.
