The move indicates some headway towards resolving the deadlock since February.
Officials present at the GoM meeting quoted environment minister Ms Jayanthi Natarajan as saying she would discuss the coal projects on a case by case basis, where mining activity had reached a certain threshold.
According to the officials, Ms Natarajan's view was endorsed by finance minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee, who heads the GoM.
However, the ministry has decided to keep certain areas out of bounds for mining, which will be termed inviolate areas.
Talking to reporters after a GoM meeting, coal minister Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal said that “There were issues raised by the Chaturvedi committee, which have almost been resolved."
Asked whether any decision was taken with regard to eight specific coal blocks, stuck due to the environment ministry's strict guidelines, Mr Jaiswal said that “We have not reached that stage."
The GoM was constituted in February this year at the behest of prime minister Mr Manmohan Singh to look into issues related to coal projects. The GoM was trying to resolve differences between the ministry of environment and forests on the one hand and ministries of coal, steel and power on the other. The GoM is yet to evolve a consensus over the classification of coal mining areas into go and no go zones. Read the full report here.
Source: Steel Guru.com.
