Chaturvedi Committee suggested Clearing of Stranded Coal Projects on Merit Basis

The committee set up by the Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine the go and no-go system for coal mining and chaired by Planning Commission Member B K Chaturvedi submitted its report on 12 July 2011. The committee recommended that all projects stranded due to the classification must be treated on their merits and cleared sans restrictions if located at the fringes of the forests.

The committee asked the union environment ministry to amend its directive mandating developers to compulsorily secure Stage-I clearance as well as facilitate green clearances in a time-bound manner. The committee highlighted that the system of go and no go has no legal sanction.

The committee questioned the methodology adopted, of relying on satellite imagery alone, to determine the go and no go areas. It suggested following the usual procedure that requires Central and state governments to assess the importance of forests through a variety of means.
The report suggested that the Forest Advisory Committee should evaluate coal projects on their individual merits alone irrespective of which side of the classification they fall. Blocks falling in the marginal forests are to be cleared in the normal way without any restrictions.

It also suggested emulating international practices of permitting mining around dense forest areas with full safeguards. The committee asked the government to explore the possibility of underground mining in such areas.

The committee also asked the environment ministry to work out measures to allow uninterrupted coal mining operations as a result of the moratorium imposed under the Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index (CEPI). It suggested levying penalties on developers failing to comply with the conditions.

The committee suggested that the ministries of coal and environment work jointly and evolve a strategy to ensure that genuine cases are cleared and also the interests of the tribals be protected.