Cabinet to take final call on NIB: FM

New Delhi : Admitting to differences with the environment ministry in the setting up of the National Investment Board (NIB), finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday said the Union Cabinet would take a final call on the issue.

Replying to supplementaries in the Lok Sabha, he said the the government has proposed to set up the NIB for “quicker implementation” of large projects entailing investments in excess of Rs 1,000 crore.

“Yes, the Ministry of Environment and Forest has expressed certain reservations. The matter will be placed before the Cabinet and when the Cabinet takes a final decision, we will know what the decision is and how these reservations are being addressed,” Chidambaram said.

Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan had written to the Prime Minister opposing any move to bypass required green clearances for mega project approvals by the proposed NIB.

Chidambaram said the NIB would be a Cabinet Committee on Investments, to be chaired by the Prime Minister.