New environment norm may delay steel and power projects

Mumbai: The going is set to become tougher for the companies who have proposed to set up steel plants and thermal power projects.

The MoEF in its latest circular has stated that the green signal pending for all thermal power, steel and sponge iron projects will be deferred till the status of their environment and forest clearance for coal supply sources are not furnished.

Industry leaders have stated that the latest move of the MoEF will deal a blow to the steel makers and Independent Power Producers (IPPs), some of whom are already grappling with inordinate delay in project execution. The latest directive of MoEF has come at a time when the ministry has stalled the expansion plan of Vedanta Aluminium and issued a stop work order on Posco India- both projects being big ticket investments in the state.

Those thermal power plants who have been allocated coal blocks will be hit by this move of the MoEF and their projects will be pushed to further delay. Getting environment clearance for a coal block is long-drawn process and it is not going to be easy for the IPPs who have been allocated coal blocks. However, the going is not going to be tough for those IPPs who are getting coal linkages as the linked coal is supplied from the operational mines of Coal India Limited (CIL) which already have the environmental clearance.