NEW DELHI: Marking a shift from the tone set by the government so far on green clearances for big industry, the environment ministry under Anil Dave has shot down a Rs 50,000-crore proposal from ArcelorMittal for a mining project in the dense Saranda forest area of Jharkhand The move has dealt a blow to ArcelorMittal India’s big mining plans for iron and manganese in the state ahead of its lease expiry this month. The Jharkhand government, led by BJP, had given its nod for the project. The company was targeting a 12 million tonnes per annum steel plant in Jharkhand and had moved Delhi High Court this month to get an early decision on its mining project proposal across 200 acres of forest land.The forest advisory committee ( FAC ), the apex clearance body in the environment ministry, called a special consultation to assess the proposal on Monday following orders of the high court to expedite the process.It refused approval, pointing out that the area under consideration is areserved forest area and that according to the December 30 site inspection report, the area was part of the Singhbhum elephant reserve, the first of its kind in the country. The Anil Dave-led ministry’s stand on the issue also marks a key change in the position taken by the green ministry under the Narendra Modi regime so far. Critics and activists have continuously alleged that the ministry has accorded far too many forest clearances.However, it was the previous Congress-led UPA2 regime, with Jayanthi Natarajan as environment minister, that took a controversial decision to permit mining in 500 hectares of forest land in Saranda in 2013. While turning down ArcelorMittal India’s proposal, the forest advisory committee said “any decision to allow mining leases or open up new areas in Saranda forest for mining needs to be taken after careful thought, particularly on the likely adverse effect on the ecology of the area”.It pointed out that till a plan for sustainable mining and wildlife management in Saranda is finalised, it was “not desirable for the state government to assign forest land by way of lease in the Saranda forest region”. Saranda in West Singhbhum district is one of the densest and pristine forest areas in the country with considerable wild life. FAC had considered the Arcelor-Mittal project in meetings held in January 2014 where it sought a site inspection report before taking any decision.The company filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court seeking an order for a decision before the expiry of its lease on January 11. HC order came on January 9 and on the same day, FAC invoked special rules to urgently circulate all relevant documents and decide on ArcelorMittal India’s application.