Moily takes rein of environment ministry, vows speedy decisions
26 Dec 2013 5:07 AM IST
‘I am the one who is accustomed to dispose of the files by the evening. Not even a single file will be taken home and not even a single file will be pending unless it requires yet another (look),’ said the petroleum minister, who assumed the additional charge of the environment ministry.
His comments came amid reports that Natarajan was asked to quit the ministry last week because of complaints that she was holding up environmental clearances to big ticket projects worth thousands of crores and thus impeding growth.
Moily, while rejecting any possibility of conflict of interest because of his holding petroleum ministry, asserted that he would strictly follow the rules while considering projects for clearances.
‘Everything has its space. Petroleum has its space. Every ministry has a space... Ultimately, we have to go by the rules of the game which have been laid out by any ministry. We should not cross it. There should not be any fear or favour while discharging the duties,’ he said.
Contending that ‘as far as possible nothing should be left to discretion,’ he said, ‘Ultimately, we have to go by the rules of the game which are laid down by the ministry.
People may have a lot of expectations... but we will have to go strictly according to the rules of the game.’
On the issue of conflict of interest, Moily cited his experience as minister for law, corporate affairs and petroleum and said he had effectively dealt with such issues.
Asked about the opposition charge that the green image of the ministry may be compromised after the change of guard, he said, ‘There will be no compromise... We will have to maintain (it)... I don’t want to compromise the basic environmental principles... the benchmark of this ministry.’
Minister seeks Review of report on Western Ghats
New Delhi: Getting down to business soon after taking over, environment minister M Veerappa Moily directed a review of a controversial report on Western Ghats which had earned his predecessor Jayanthi Natarajan the wrath of political parties and religious groups from Kerala. Moily asked six Western Ghats range states– Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat to examine various recommendations of the High Level Working Group (HLWG) report prepared by a 10-member panel headed by K Kasturirangan. The minister has assured Kerala CM Oommen Chandy and Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan that he would go ahead with the implementations only after receiving suggestions.
His comments came amid reports that Natarajan was asked to quit the ministry last week because of complaints that she was holding up environmental clearances to big ticket projects worth thousands of crores and thus impeding growth.
Moily, while rejecting any possibility of conflict of interest because of his holding petroleum ministry, asserted that he would strictly follow the rules while considering projects for clearances.
‘Everything has its space. Petroleum has its space. Every ministry has a space... Ultimately, we have to go by the rules of the game which have been laid out by any ministry. We should not cross it. There should not be any fear or favour while discharging the duties,’ he said.
Contending that ‘as far as possible nothing should be left to discretion,’ he said, ‘Ultimately, we have to go by the rules of the game which are laid down by the ministry.
People may have a lot of expectations... but we will have to go strictly according to the rules of the game.’
On the issue of conflict of interest, Moily cited his experience as minister for law, corporate affairs and petroleum and said he had effectively dealt with such issues.
Asked about the opposition charge that the green image of the ministry may be compromised after the change of guard, he said, ‘There will be no compromise... We will have to maintain (it)... I don’t want to compromise the basic environmental principles... the benchmark of this ministry.’
Minister seeks Review of report on Western Ghats
New Delhi: Getting down to business soon after taking over, environment minister M Veerappa Moily directed a review of a controversial report on Western Ghats which had earned his predecessor Jayanthi Natarajan the wrath of political parties and religious groups from Kerala. Moily asked six Western Ghats range states– Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat to examine various recommendations of the High Level Working Group (HLWG) report prepared by a 10-member panel headed by K Kasturirangan. The minister has assured Kerala CM Oommen Chandy and Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan that he would go ahead with the implementations only after receiving suggestions.
Next Story
