Mixed response from India Inc to Ramesh being moved out of environment ministry

He may have given sleepless nights to corporates in his Green crusade which saw multi-billion projects getting stuck, but India Inc is also praising technocrat-turned politician Jairam Ramesh for putting in a mechanism in the environment ministry that protects environmental concerns.

He may have given sleepless nights to corporates in his Green crusade which saw multi-billion projects getting stuck, but India Inc is also praising technocrat-turned politician Jairam Ramesh for putting in a mechanism in the environment ministry that protects environmental concerns.

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While some in corporates may breathe easy over Ramesh being shifted from the environment ministry to rural development as they believe his tough stance on infrastructure projects, right from steel to power, has stunted the sector's growth, there are others who feel that he has left an indelible mark as the green minister in protecting the environment.

"He tried to create an impression that you cannot brush aside ... that is being recognised by everybody. He successfully created the impression that you cannot take environmental issues lightly, set certain practices for the ministry officials and the industry recognises that," an industry source said.

The industry is now anxious to know the approach of the new minister, Jayanti Natarajan, but is in a "wait and watch" mode. "We do not know how to react as it will all depend on how the new minister takes things...," the source added.

An Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US) alumnus, Ramesh had an eventful stint as environment minister for two years in the UPA II government.

His tough stand on $12 billion POSCO project, $1.7 billion bauxite mining project of Vedanta, HCC's hill city project Lavasa, and putting 203 coal blocks in "no go" mining zone will go down as landmarks in his stewardship, green activists said.