Coal news and updates

Marked improvement in coal project clearances since Jan

March 7: The number of coal projects awaiting environmental clearance (EC) from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) has dramatically reduced over the last two months, according to data available with ICMW.

The total number of coal projects awaiting EC dropped by 22 to 53 on March 7 from 75 on January 7, 2014, the data showed.

There was also significant improvement in the number of coal projects awaiting the terms of reference (TOR) from the ministry. The number of such projects dropped from 59 on January 7 to 36 on March 7, thereby showing a reduction of 23 in the last two months. TOR is an important step in environmental impact assessment for any new project.