NEW DELHI: Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday said the erstwhile UPA Government had stalled key infrastructure projects in non-Congress ruled states like Gujarat and Odisha while the ruling party states were favoured.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Javadekar said, “This is really a matter of concern that a difference was made among the states -- states which were ruling party states were favoured and states like Gujarat and Odisha were discriminated against.”
Citing an instance, he said that in Gujarat a State Electricity Board power plant was to come up and the then Union Ministry of Environment and Forests gave permission to all the Electricity Board plants in the last 10 years but they asked for Rs 100 crore guarantee from Gujarat.
He also mentioned the letter by former Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarjan where she attacked Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi for influencing green clearance to certain projects. The MoEF is already looking into specific projects mentioned by Natarajan in her letter.