All that is required in many a case is final letter from ministry which is not being given, govt sources say. While on the one hand efforts are being made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram to push investment in the face of an economic crisis, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) led by Jayanti Natarajan is sitting on several projects worth crores of rupees even when clearances have been given by authorized bodies in the ministry. All that is required in many a case is a final letter from the ministry which is not being given government sources say. The ministry has been questioned on the projects which have passed all clearances in the ministry and are yet are stuck in the ministry. The only response the ministry gives in response is: "the file is still under submission’’. The projects are being examined at the level of the Cabinet secretariat and the Cabinet Committee on Investment for delays. Projects worth Rs 20,000 crore are at present held up in the MoEF despite receiving all the clearances, while projects worth another Rs 35,000 crore are held up because the ministry has not set up an Expert Appraisal Committee required to study the environmental viability of a project. While many projects had faced delays thanks to green objections raised by the former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh as in the case of Haldia dock projects, the projects that are blocked now are delayed despite approvals. File under submission: These are projects where the clearances are all obtained and the files are submitted to the minister for her signature. Meenakshi Energy Private limited’s 1,000 MW coal based power project in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh wanted to renew clearance for its project. The clearance had expired in July this year.. The company applied and EAC recommended it too. Despite requests from the ministry of Power, the MoEF response as recorded in the minutes of a meeting in the Cabinet Secretariat is: "the file is still under submission.’’ This is a project wirth Rs 5400 crore. LNG Terminal at Mundra, in Gujarat which is to supply 18 MMSCMD of natural gas, needed environmental clearance by delinking it from the Sunita Narain Committee for environmental issues of Mundra Port in view of clarifications by the project authority. The ministry however has responded to the government’s request for clearance by saying that the ''file is still under submission for a decision’’. This is worth Rs 5200 crore. The multi product SEZ at Mundra, Adani Ports and SEZ, with a total area of 18,000 ha is the third victim of the enigmatic silence on the part of the MoEF. The issue with the SEZ according to the documents available with the government sources is: the EAC recommended the project during its meeting on June 2012. EAC clearance is supposed to be the last clearance required. But in September, the matter went before the Sunita Narain committee to verify activities related to water front development. The committee submitted its report to MoEF in April this year. But till date no decision has been communicated by MoEF. The project authorities have told the government that the undecided status is seriously affecting the commercial development of the Rs 9,000 crore SEZ. The issue is still under consideration for a decision, the moEF has informed. The Mundra SEZ has claimed that it can generate close to three lakh jobs. Waiting for EAC There are five projects worth Rs 35,000 crore which have been held up in the MoEF because the ministry has not set up an Expert Appraisal Committee to assess the environmental suitabioity of these projects. There has been no EAC for at least three months, sources in the government said. Following queries to the Minister and the Secretary MoEF by Business Standard , the ministry informed the government this week that EAC is being set up. The projects held up thanks to this delay are the following: Aditya Aluminium Smelter of Hindalco Industries, Orissa: Application for environmental clearance Cost Rs 13,195 crore What MoEF says: The issue could not be considered in absence of reconstituted EAC. 1,200 MW Coal based thermal power plant at Raigarh Chattisgarh: JPL applied for permission for transportation of coal by road and installation of crushing plant. Rs 13,600 crore What MoEF says: The EAC is yet to be constituted. Sagar Super Thermal Power Project, 1,980 MW, Medinapur West Bengal Seeking environmental and CRZ clearance from MoEF for state one consisting of 2 x600 MW units after which project would be ready for take off. Cost Rs 8,600 crore What MoEF says: EAC for thermal projects being reconstituted. The report that was submitted by State government to MoEF in the context of environmental impact on May 7 2013 shall be considered by the newly constituted EAC. Kapurdi Lignite Mine’s pithead thermal power project : Cost Rs 7,200 crore The project required clearance for 25% capacity enhancement. What MoEF says: The issue will be taken up by the EAC that has now been constituted. Pending approvals: In the case of three projects worth another 35,000 crore, the delay has been thanks to indecisiveness. In the case of the Rs 30,000 crore Paradip oil refinery, while the entire refinery has clearance, a pipeline that would make the refinery functional has been denied clearance. “About 93% of the 15 million tonne project is complete and we are getting ready to commission it by this December. If we are unable to get the environment clearances for the pipeline, the refinery will not be able to show 100% capacity utilization,” said M M Vijaywargiya, executive director , IOCL. On the other hand, for Haldia the issue is related to a ban on expansion projects by the MoEF. “The major problem with the Haldia Dock II and Haldia Dock II south, which would see an investment of about Rs 1,800 crore is the ban by MoEF. We are unable to go ahead with the project unless it comes up with some solution on this,” says KoPT chairman R P S Kahlon. It was in 2009 that MoEF had issued a ban on further industrial expansion, citing it to be critically polluted. However, the environment minister Jayanti Natarajan did not respond to the queries and phone calls by Business Standard. Coal India officials too confirmed that the expansion India’s largest open cast mine is waiting for the mercy of environment ministry for clearances.