The Congress has criticised the government’s decision to allow non-coal mining projects to seek environmental clearance without prior proof of land acquisition.
Congress called it “yet another blow by the Modi regime” to environmental governance.
The environment ministry said the move followed recommendations of the non-coal mining Expert Appraisal Committee, which found it impractical to insist on land acquisition documents at the clearance stage for some projects.
The Congress on Thursday criticised the government over a policy change under which developers of non-coal mining projects will no longer be required to submit proof of land acquisition as a precondition for environmental clearance, calling it “yet another blow by the Modi regime” to responsible environmental governance.
According to a recent memorandum issued by the environment ministry, non-coal mining project developers will now be able to seek environmental clearance without furnishing proof of land acquisition, a requirement that was previously mandatory.
Congress general secretary and former environment minister Jairam Ramesh said, “For non-coal mining projects, the policy has been that first land acquisition must be completed as per law and only then can environmental clearances be sought. However, on December 18, 2025, this policy was changed by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change and environmental clearances for non-coal mining projects can now be sought before land acquisition.” He added in a post on X that it was difficult to understand how a meaningful environmental impact assessment could be carried out without full knowledge of the area to be covered by a project.
This policy change is yet another blow by the Modi regime to responsible and responsive environmental governance in the country,” Ramesh said.
The earlier norm was revisited following requests that consent from landowners should not be insisted upon at the time of granting environmental clearance for non-coal mining projects, and that the status of land acquisition should not be linked to the clearance process.
“The matter was referred to the non-coal mining Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for consideration. After due deliberation the sectoral EAC observed that the request for delinking the consent from landowners at the time of grant of EC for non-coal mining projects, appears to be reasonable and can be accepted,” an official ministry memorandum said.
“Further, the EAC, inter alia, also observed that there are many mining projects where mining operations have started after grant of EC and land acquisition is still in progress in a phased manner based on requirement,” it added.
The order noted that “the recommendations of the non-coal mining EAC were examined and comments and inputs on the applicability of the OM (office memorandum) dated October 7, 2014, as amended, on other sectors were also sought. Based on the inputs received, it was observed that insisting for land acquisition documents at the time of appraisal for EC may not be practical for certain other projects”.
(with PTI inputs)
