Coal projects sans MoEF clearance to be deferred

Cases have come to light where substantial progress and investment has been made for setting up a power or steel plant without requisite environment and forestry clearances in place of captive for the captive coal mines/blocks or the coal linkages from Coal India Limited or its subsidiaries, the ministry said. Saying it was imperative to ascertain the status well in advance,the MoEF argued that it would help to avoid a fait accompli situation arising there from as also the public interest involved in preventing blockage of financial resources due to the absence of the raw material.

Accordingly,MoEF has decided that all proposals relating to thermal power,steel,sponge iron and other projects,which were largely dependent on coal,would be considered only after firm coal linkage was available the status of environment/forestry clearances was known. In this light it has also been decided that all such proposals pending with the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authorities or State Expert Appraisal Committees concerned for consideration shall be deferred and delisted till the status of environment and forestry clearance of the coal supply or the MoU for imported coal has been established, the ministry said. The move is expected to intensify pressure on the steel ministry,which has been facing pressure from steel producers,whose blocks are stuck up in No Go areas.

Steel Secretary Pradeep Kumar Misra had even written to his coal ministry counterpart C Balakrishnan on October 6 last seeking his mediation in getting the blocks de-classified.

Misra pointed out that at his ministrys behest the utilities have given affidavits citing the quantum of investments made by them in their respective blocks. It may be mentioned that the status of end-use plants pertaining to steel sector has been complied based on information given the by the allocattee companies in the form of affidavits. The information given by the senior officials of these utilities would lead to prosecution,if it was wrong,there is no need to make site visits as such visits would be time consuming and lead to delay in taking up the matter with the MoEF or the Prime Ministers Office PMO, Misra said in his letter. But the MoEFs circular is bound to act as a dampener to the ministrys efforts,which is already under pressure to achieve the 124 MT steel production capacity by 2012.

The MoEF has identified a total of 203 blocks capable of supporting generation of 13000 MW falling under No Go areas,which has rendered the fate of at least ten coal blocks,where the utilities have invested heavily,uncertain.

A committee,comprising secretaries of concerned union ministries,and headed by Planning Commission Member B K Chaturvedi,which recently perused reports submitted by separate official teams after their field visits,inferred that in the remaining 193 blocks steel,sponge iron and cement companies have invested considerably.

Saying that since substantial investments have already been made by the steel companies in these blocks,Misra argued that any hindrance in the development of the coal blocks at this stage may adversely affect the economic viability of their projects and lead to them importing coal at a much higher price.