Government to launch upgraded single window system for green clearances

New Delhi: The Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change is planning to launch an upgraded single window system ” PARIVESH” for  Environment Clearance and Forest Clearance to expedite the infrastructure projects in the country.

“Currently the envisaged PARIVESH development work is in progress and is planned to be launched by the end of 2022” the ministry said in a statement, during the two day national conference of States Environment Minister, which was held in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.

The government now intends to unveil Parivesh 2.0 by the end of the year.

PARIVESH would be a technology driven, professionally managed institutional mechanism, which will operate as a ‘’single window’’ platform for administration of all Green Clearances, and subsequent compliance management.

“The key drivers are process transformation, technological transformation and domain knowledge intervention” it said.

The envisaged PARIVESH aims to have a single source of truth, effectiveness through process & data synchronization, transparent & informed decision making and strengthen “Minimum Government Maximum Governance”.

PARIVESH, (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive and Virtuous Environment Single-window Hub) was launched in August 2018 in order to help in reduction in time taken in grants of Environment Clearance  and Forest Clearance .

According to data, more than 6000 proposals for environmental clearance and 6500 applications for forest clearance are presently pending with the states.

“During the pandemic of COVID-19, the new normal prompted our society to seek more technology driven solutions and accordingly the Ministry has taken up the task of enhancing the scope of existing PARIVESH with 16 modules and more than 140 key functionalities” said the ministry.

Addressing the conference, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that the two-day conference has been organised with the hope that we can contribute to the vision of  a self-reliant India by working as a team.

“Individuals are like a drop in the ocean and the team is like an ocean itself which has huge power and force. It is the spirit of Team India which will take us forward” he added.

During the inaugural session, on day one, Prime Minister Modi drowned  everyone’s attention to the net zero target for the year 2070, He said that the focus of the country is on green growth and green jobs and the role of the Environment Ministries of the States in achieving these goals is very significant.

He asked the states to own the initiatives like Vehicle Scrapping policy, and biofuel measures such as ethanol blending and help to strengthen them on the ground.

The two-day Conference organised on the 23rd and 24th of September had six thematic sessions with topics focusing on LiFE, Combating Climate Change (Updating State Action Plans on Climate Change for Mitigation of Emissions and Adaptation to Climate Impacts); PARIVESH (Single Window System for Integrated Green Clearances); Forestry Management; Prevention and Control of Pollution; Wildlife Management; Plastics and Waste Management.