Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi may have struck a very cordial note during his visit to India this week, but the new Narendra Modi government seems to be leaving no stone unturned to secure its border with China. So much so that environmental concerns have taken a backseat. On June 12, minister of environment, forests and climate change, Prakash Javadekar, announced that his ministry is planning to finalise a policy which would enable states to clear defence projects falling within 100 km of Line of Actual Control (LAC) without approaching the Centre for environment clearances.

This came three days after the minister announced his decision to clear the installation of a radar unit at Narcondam Island in Andaman and Nicobar islands, apparently to counter a similar move by China in the neighbouring Malaysian island. The minister’s announcements have come after he met senior defence ministry officials on June 10. Under the new policy, the defence ministry will not have to approach the Centre for environment clearance for defence infrastructure projects, including border roads. The states will be allowed to take decisions on environment and forest clearances for such projects. “It was an effort intended to make simple, transparent & predictable process for environmental clearances,” said the environment ministry in a press release.

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