The Ministry of Environment and Forests has put on hold the ongoing and proposed projects in the Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg areas of Maharashtra, in view of concerns over environmental impact and ecological degradation.
According to a Ministry statement, there have been an increasing number of representations expressing concern at the large number of industrial projects in the area.
‘It is necessary to take a regional approach during the appraisal of projects,' the statement said.
Recently in Pune, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh pointed out the need for looking into the impact of power projects in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg on the eco-system.
The Ministry has decided to impose a moratorium on the projects from August 16 to December 2010 . It will be applicable to both category ‘A' and ‘B' projects, under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. Meanwhile, the responsibility of environmental assessment has been given to the Western Ghats Ecology Panel.
The panel was constituted by the Ministry earlier this year for conservation and rejuvenation of the Western Ghats region. It has now been asked to assess the developmental trends in the Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri regions.
Chairman of the panel and ecologist Madhav Gadgil told The Hindu on Monday that the proposed and ongoing projects would be studied before taking a decision. Currently, a large number of power and mining projects were being planned and these could be potentially dangerous, he said.
“This was not part of the mandate of the panel. But since we have been given the task, we will discuss the issue at the next meeting on September 27 [in Goa] and take necessary steps.” Ministry officials would also be involved in the cumulative assessment process, he said.
