Apply for a green clearance only after forest nod: MoEF

Forest clearance and environmental clearance are independent processes as of now,though an environmental clearance for a project involving forest land is not made operative till the corresponding forest clearance is also granted.

In its directive,the ministry acknowledges that till now clearances of any other kind are not considered to be a pre-requisite for applying for and obtaining environmental approvals — except in certain special cases — but says this practice needs to be changed henceforth “in view of the complexity of issues involved”.

The directive spells out the procedure for entertaining applications for environmental clearances in future. At the very start of the process,the company would be asked to consider whether it will be feasible to undertake the project on ‘non forest-land’ only.

In case,it is not feasible to avoid the use of forest land,the company would be asked to obtain the forest clearance first. Only after such clearance is granted will the application for environmental clearance entertained.

The new rules would apply to even those projects that have already been appraised by the Expert Appraisal Committee of the ministry and recommended for grant of environmental clearance. In such cases,the environmental clearance would be held in abeyance for one year during which the company would have to obtain stage-I forest clearance.

“In case,the formal forestry clearance is not submitted within this time frame,the proposal will stand rejected and the process for obtaining environmental clearance will have to be initiated de-novo…” the ministry’s directive has said.