‘Gram sabha norms for coal projects won’t be relaxed’

After managing to wriggle out of the ‘go,no-go’ impasse,coal block owners have landed in fresh trouble. A Group of Ministers (GoM) has shot down the B K Chaturvedi committee’s suggestion on relaxing norms for securing concurrence of the gram sabhas in their project sites. Instead,the ministerial panel has entrusted the Tribal Affairs Ministry to finalise a blueprint ensuring “an equitable solution acceptable to all stakeholders.”

In its last meeting on September 20,the GoM set up to suggest ways on streamlining the environmental clearances for stranded coal projects,took note of the committee’s suggestion that existing coal projects should be allowed to expand without conducting any public hearing.

“If the meeting of the gram sabha is postponed for want of quorum,the second meeting may consider the proposal without any restriction of 50 per cent quorum,” it said in the report. Currently,project developers have to secure the concurrence of gram sabhas — with a 50 per cent quorum — under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) before they can start mining. But at the meeting,Tribal Affairs Minister Kishore Chandra Deo contended that accepting the panel’s recommendation would be imprudent as the FRA was passed after lot of efforts for the benefit and empowerment of tribals. Deo also opposed Coal Ministry’s view on canceling gram sabha meeting for want of quorum.