Quitting the Congress party on Friday, Jayanthi Natarajan blamed Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi of directing her to hold back projects
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had coined the controversial term 'Jayanthi tax' during his Lok Sabha election campaign last year and accused the former Environment Minister of corruption and holding back files that derailed crucial projects.
Quitting the Congress party on Friday, Jayanthi Natarajan blamed Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi of directing her to hold back projects, including that of the Adani group.
One report had suggested that Natarajan delayed projects worth Rs 10 lakh crore during her tenure as the environment and forest minister from July 2011 to December 2013.
An Indian Express report last year had claimed that nearly 350 signed as well as unsigned files were found to be held back by her, including a couple dating back to 2011.
The report went on to say, "The lists show that as many as 45 cases pending with Natarajan were of impact assessment, 47 related to forest clearances, and seven to wildlife issues. Still other files related to matters of the Indian Forest Service, Coastal Regulatory Zone clearances, National Tiger Conservation Authority etc. Of the 50 files with the former minister’s staff, 39 were related to impact assessment."
The Economic Times, in December 2013 had reported that projects worth nearly Rs 10 lakh crore were held up by Natarajan and her ministry. The report further claimed that India Inc had sought the government's help in clearing projects worth Rs 5 lakh crore that were held back by her environment ministry.
In her critique of Natarajan, environment journalist Bahar Dutt wrote in July 2012 that Natarajan claimed to be a true green minister, but gave clearance to any project that came on her table, even if they had disastrous consequences on the environment.
Dutt said that Natarajan's own Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) advised her to reject projects like the 300-MW hydro-electric power plant on the main tributary of the river Ganga and a project that would destroy part of the buffer of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve and another hydro power plant project in Arunachal Pradesh. However, Natarajan cleared both these projects. Dutt further wrote that in 2011 alone, the environment ministry granted 181 coal mines, 267 thermal power plants, 106 cement plants, 188 steel plants and 21000 MW worth of thermal power plants.
Veerappa Moily, who succeeded Natarajan as environment minister in January 2014 reportedly cleared projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore in 20 days, including that of Korean steelmaker POSCO worth Rs 54,000 crore. He also gave environmental clearance to the nuclear plant in Haryana worth Rs 23,000 crore.
Also Read: Veerappa Moily's new green suit riles environment activists
However, Natarajan had hit back at all the allegations against her, saying that "I was never a bottleneck, nor was I ever responsible for unwarranted delays in major projects," adding that she had taken great care to honour the specific requests and "directives" from Rahul Gandhi and his office when she was told about environmental concerns in some important areas.
Also Read: Highlights from Jayanthi Natarajan's letter to Sonia Gandhi
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