Govt To Frame Green Clearance Rules For Power Projects

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[<p>India plans to frame broader guidelines and prescribe timelines for issuing environment clearances to power sector projects, the federal environment minister said on Wednesday.<br><br>"Within my mandate to protect the environment, our policy will be to have consistent, transparent guidelines," Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters.<br><br>India holds about 10 per cent of the world's coal reserves, but has struggled to provide enough fuel to its under-performing power sector, because of policy challenges.<br><br>State-run miner Coal India has said it may miss production targets this year because of delays in environmental clearances at some of its mines, even as demand rises from power plants and industries.<br><br>(Reuters)</p>