Union ministry of defence and the ministry of petroleum are taking efforts to arrive at a workable solution in respect of granting security clearance to the “No Go” blocks, a joint report by the ministries said.
Both the ministries are taking efforts keeping in mind the best practices in other countries as well as options for appropriate ring-fencing and a coordinated mechanism for information sharing between stakeholders, the report said.
Media reports suggest that both the ministries may arrive at a consensus to clear 34 out of the 39 projects pending security approval.
The defence ministry had held back clearances for these blocks as most of of them were close to the DRDO launch pads while some were just off the strategic naval base. The ministry had declared most of these blocks to be no-go areas.
Last month, the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) took up the projects for speedy approvals. CCI gave the warring petroleum and defence ministries one months’ time to sort out differences over 39 oil blocks and free-up investment worth $16 billion (about Rs 88,000 crore).
Blocks cleared from the security angle include India’s most prolific gas-producing block, the KG-D6, situated off the eastern coast and is being operated by Mukesh Ambani-led RIL.
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