Even after Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath complained to the Prime Minister over the progress of highways being stalled by the Environment Ministry,Jairam Ramesh seems in no mood to relent. In a letter to Nath,Ramesh has pointed out that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) should conduct an audit of environmental clearances for highways,since the trees being cut down are not being replaced. In what is being perceived as a snub to Nath,Ramesh made clear that his Ministry will not clear pending highway projects slated to cut through Kaziranga tiger reserve in Assam and Pench tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh. Ramesh said these projects were unacceptable. While mentioning that several NHAI proposals are pending with his Ministry,including many that propose to cut across forest areas,Ramesh has called for the setting up of green highways. It had been decided at a meeting headed by the Cabinet Secretary that the MoEF and the Road Transport Ministry should chalk out a plan for roadside plantations along highways. Citing the example of the Delhi-Amritsar Highway Number 1 which has thick plantations,Ramesh insisted on the environmental clearance audit so that green highways with thick roadside plantations could be set up. In a meeting with NHAI chairman last month,Ramesh had pressed for the setting up of zonal-level establishments of the NHAI in Kolkata,Guwahati,Nagpur,Chennai and Delhi for conducting the audits. Ramesh had announced earlier that the Cabinet had accepted his proposal of forbidding on-site expenditure on highway projects till they received the mandatory environmental clearance.
