An environmental scientist’s arrest for granting clearance for a limestone mine in Orissa is the tip of the corruption iceberg that is floating freely in the environment ministry.
A cash stash of `1 crore was allegedly recovered from the Gurgaon and Rohtak premises of Neeraj Kumar Khatri, who works as a deputy director in the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).
But the entire process of granting clearances by officials has raised eyebrows several times in the past and just last month, in December 2012, the National Green Tribunal had ordered a probe into the illegal manner in which several MoEF officials had granted clearance to mining operations in the states of Goa, Karnataka and Orissa.
Although Mr Khatri was not a member of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) which would have heard this case relating to granting of clearance to Chariot Steel and Power Pvt Ltd, the modus operandi is that “key” people within the ministry ensure that such cases receive speedy approval.
“Khatri’s arrest only confirms what we have suspected all along,” said Debi Goenka, trustee of the Mumbai-based Conservation Action Trust.
The MoEF has eight expert committees which meet once a month to clear projects and there is a cloud around several decisions that these committees have taken in the past.
The modus operandi remains quite simple. “Files where money has not changed hand are sent back to the project proponent with queries,” said a member of a green NGO.
When the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam broke out, questions were raised about the letter written by an MoEF director which was “construed” to have been the equivalent of granting of an environmental clearance. But when the CBI asked the ministry for the relevant files dealing with the Adarsh case, they were untraceable.
Similar queries have repeatedly been raised regarding the disposal of toxic waste.
Toxic Watch Alliance director Gopal Krishan questions how the director in MoEF has not clamped down on hazardous waste being dumped along the entire Gujarat coastline thanks to the shipbreaking activity which is in flagrant violation of a Supreme Court order.
Senior sources in the MoEF point out that in 2012, efforts were made to make the clearance process more transparent and four new regional offices have been started. But these are yet to make a mark.