The Union Environment Ministry hasn’t received any proposal seeking environmental clearance and the environmental impact assessment report for the eight-lane Chennai-Salem expressway and the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) projects, the Central government informed Parliament on Monday.

PMK Rajya Sabha member Anbumani Ramadoss had sought details of a recent environmental impact assessment report on the Sterlite Copper plant, the projects being implemented by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), coal bed methane projects, the eight-lane Chennai-Salem expressway project of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the proposed PCPIR project in Tamil Nadu.

In a written reply, Babul Supriyo, Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said no proposals had been received in relation to the expressway and PCPIR projects.

Environmental clearances were provided to the Sterlite Copper plant for an expansion project in January 2009, and to the ONGC in February 2018, on the basis of a review of their Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports, he added.

Mr. Ramadoss had also sought to know the total number of government, private and joint venture developmental projects being implemented in Tamil Nadu without complying with current environmental regulations such as holding public hearings and obtaining environmental clearances.

In his reply, Mr. Supriyo said there were “33 projects or activities of government, private and joint ventures functioning in Tamil Nadu without prior environment clearance, as required under EIA Notification, 2006 and subsequent amendments”.

“These projects or activities were appraised to bring them under compliance of (sic) environmental laws including action under the section 19 of Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986,” he added.