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Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh has sought to shift the blame to the states for delaying finalisation of coal projects and also simultaneously hit out at the present royalty mechanism, which he said did not provide any incentive to states for them to push projects.In a recent letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the minister said, "Bulk of the so-called delays that the coal ministry was complaining about was because of the long-time involved in getting the state government concerned to approve the project at its end and then forward it with all details." On his part, he said his ministry would ensure complete transparency in processing cases and readiness to cut down needless delays.Arguing that states have their own problems associated with land acquisition, Ramesh said, "They also have no real great economic incentive to clear such projects expeditiously given the present formula for royalty sharing." "I have found on detailed analysis that bulk of the coal projects are stuck with the state forest departments for one reason or another. In states like Jharkhand, it can take anywhere upward of three years for the state to send the proposal to the Centre for its final approval."Pointing out that among all coal-rich states, his ministry faced extreme delays in Jharkhand, Ramesh told the Prime Minister, "I would request you to convene a special meeting with the chief minister in this regard."He informed Singh that at his ministry's behest, a preliminary exercise was currently on to delineate "Go" and No Go" areas for opening fresh coal mines. "We have generated digitized maps for nine of the major coalfields on which coal reserves and forest areas by density have been superimposed on each other," Ramesh said in his letter and reminded that in No Go areas, one could rule out any approval for a coal mine due to factors like forest density and nature of the forests. Even in Go areas, where mining was possible, clearance would be subject to usual examination procedures under FCA and Wildlife Protection Act 1972. "Go areas should not mean that approval was automatic. Final approval must depend on examination of site-specific factors in the statutory forest advisory committee," the minister said.
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