Ministers Lock Horns Over Mining Rights
Author:
First published in Sanctuary Asia,
Vol. 31
No. 7,
July 2011
“We are saying ‘no mining in dense forests'; in other areas, we will go in for compensatory afforestation three to four times the shrub or tree-line that has to be cut. This is the only way we can meet the raw material needs of our power and steel plants," Jaiswal told The Telegraph in an exclusive interview.
Jaiswal's remarks come ahead of a key meeting with the Prime Minister on July 12. This will be followed on July 14 by the final meeting of the group of ministers on the subject, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The coal minister has support from the ministries of power, steel and finance and from the Planning Commission, and his stand looks likely to win the day. However, Ramesh remains adamantly opposed to it. Read the full report here.
Source: Jayanta Roy Chowdhury, The Telegraph, New Delhi.
