New Delhi, Dec. 2 -- The Union environment ministry on Monday informed Lok Sabha that there was a need to strike a balance between the requirement of land for industrial projects, activities and the environmental needs while explaining why it decided to rationalise the green belt area for industrial estates to a minimum of 10% of the area of the industrial estate. Kirti Vardhan Singh, minister of state for environment, was responding to queries by MPs Dileshwar Kamait and PC Mohan in Parliament. The MPs sought details of the revised green belt and plantation norms notified by the government for new industrial estates, parks and individual industrial projects under the Environmental Clearance framework, the rationale behind revising the earlier requirement of 33% green cover to the present norms and steps taken to ensure that the revised norms continue to promote sustainable industrial growth. "There was a need to strike a balance between the requirement of land for the Projects/Activities and the environmental needs of the green belt along with the existing pollution control and abatement measures prescribed under the general and specific conditions forming part of the prior Environmental Clearance issued in accordance with the provisions of EIA Notification 2006 as amended, so as to optimize the use of available land," he said. "The rationalisation of green belt/green cover was done based on the recommendations of a Committee, which was, inter alia, based on examining various International norms for developing green belt/green cover."...