Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar today said Government has expedited the environment clearance for industries and Environment Ministry is no more a road blocker in the development. Addressing the CII National Council meeting in New Delhi.

Mr Javadekar said, earlier the ministry used to take 640 days for environmental and forest clearances, which has now come down to 108 days. He said that the government will try to reduce this time to two months.

The minister asserted that the government will not compromise with environmental protection and it believes that growth and environment protection can go together.

He also stressed the need for research and innovation saying the country’s industry will not grow and the export will not rise without them. He said, the most important challenge currently is how to push the country’s exports and the industry should focus in this direction.