Environment Ministry reviews green model checklist for border highway projects
For highways projects in India’s border states, a model green checklist is being reviewed by the Environment Ministry. The move is being undertaken with the aim of expediting the environmental clearance process for infrastructure projects in the border areas of the country.
A statutory expert appraisal committee reviewing border infrastructure projects has prepared a checklist comprising 40 items with regard to the terms of reference for the construction of highways in the border areas.
For the model green checklist, the committee has sought information from developers about a number of aspects including terrain of the proposed border highway route; soil type; material used; details about climate; flood plans in case of rivers in the vicinity of the proposed route or tunnelling.
The acceptance of the model green terms of reference by the government would be an indication that the government’s keenness to accelerate the process of green clearances will not imply that environmental concerns will be undermined.
In all, the model terms of references prepared by the statutory expert appraisal committee will evidently lead to an improvement in the quality of the reports as well as facilitate the decision on clearances, along with making the clearances process transparent and easy.
Source – The Economic Times
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