Investigating the Legitimacy of Government's Assertions Regarding Auctions and Liquidation Sales

The Modi government has been making significant strides in streamlining environmental and forestry permits, as well as implementing anti-corruption measures.

One of the most notable changes is the introduction of online registration for all project proponents seeking environmental and forest clearance. This shift, implemented in 2014, was part of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's launch of a single window approval system. The annual report of the Ministry provides details of the number of clearances granted each year.

Another key development is the reclassification of industrial sectors. Certain industries are now considered practically non-polluting and no longer require consent to Operate. This change, however, does not apply to all sectors.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued directions to maintain uniformity in the categorization of industries as red, green, and orange. These changes were made in the final Document on Revised Classification of Industrial Sectors, 2016.

The government has also made efforts to ensure transparency in coal block auctions and telecom spectrum allocation, setting a new benchmark, according to an infographic titled 'cronyism out, cleanliness in'. However, whether these auctions truly set a new benchmark is not verifiable.

The online application for all clearances, including environmental and forest clearances, has been made mandatory. Despite this, the number of approvals hasn't increased significantly, despite a reduction in the time taken for environmental clearances. The average time period for environmental clearances has come down from 600 days (prior to 2014) to 140 days in 2018.

The government has also taken steps to reduce corruption by abolishing interviews for all group C and non-gazetted posts of group B category in the central government, effective from October 2015. Live statistics regarding approvals can be found on the official website of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

This article is part of a larger series on the 4-years of the Modi government, made possible with the flash grant of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). For the most accurate and up-to-date information, please visit the Ministry's official website.

Investigating the Legitimacy of Government's Assertions Regarding Auctions and Liquidation Sales