Site visits essential for environment clearance in Western Ghats: Ministry

A panel of the Union Environment Ministry has said that site visits should be conducted "in toto" before granting environmental clearances to pumped storage projects (PSPs) in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.

During a meeting of the ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on September 27, the member secretary stated that the ministry had granted Terms of Reference (ToR) -- which outlines the environmental studies a project must complete before applying for clearance -- to approximately 15 projects in the Western Ghats.

"The EAC reviewed the Terms of Reference recommended to the PSPs proposed to be located in Western Ghats... Given the region's high environmental sensitivity, the EAC, in previous meetings, recommended site visits by sub-committee members to several pumped storage projects.

"These projects are located in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats and a huge forest area is also involved. The EAC emphasised that, prior to granting environmental clearance or ...