Ramesh says guilty of condoning many environmental violations

Friday May 06, 2011 08:42:14 PM, IANS

New Delhi: Holding himself guilty of condoning many environmental violations, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Friday said he is against regularisation of illegality but has been forced to compromise in some cases.

"I am totally against regularising illegality. Unfortunately many times I am forced to regularise. I have no option because one refinery has been built... steel plant is built. So I am guilty in some cases of having actually condone many environmental violations," Ramesh said.

"There are some occasions that I have not compromised. In some occasions I had to compromise," Ramesh told a conference here on sustainable development.

"Regularisation of illegality is a peculiar Indian characteristic. First you make the law and then break law...," he added.

The environment ministry said earlier Friday it had cleared the 400 MW Maheshwar hydroelectric power project on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh despite non-compliance of conditions given at the time of green clearance.

Lifting the ministry's stop-work order of April 2010, Jairam Ramesh said he had no choice but to agree to lifting the order in view of the decisions taken at various meetings convened by the Prime Minister's Office in response to the communications received from Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other dignitaries.

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