The assurance has come in response to a communication from the Prime Minister's Office asking the Environment Ministry to expedite a decision on the project.

As reported Wednesday, the PMO had said the decision to give or deny environmental clearance needed to be taken quickly to clear the uncertainty.

The proposed airport has been the subject of a bitter turf war between the Environment Ministry, which has raised several objections to the location in Navi Mumbai, and the Civil Aviation Ministry that has been backing the project.

“We have assured the Prime Minister that a solution would, no doubt, be found. The Environment Ministry is not unmindful of the need to have a second airport in Mumbai. We are processing the matter as fast as we can,” Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said. “At the same time, I feel that the Maharashtra government and the Civil Aviation Ministry also need to be a little more accommodative of ecological concerns,” he said.

Ramesh’s ministry is now suggesting project developer CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation) drop plans to integrate a hotel and shopping complex within the project and relocate these “non-essentials” elsewhere to minimise the environmental impact. Relocation can save a substantial part of the 400 acres of mangroves that is under threat because of the project. CIDCO has been given some other suggestions to limit the environmental damage.

CIDCO has indicated it will report to the Environmental Appraisal Committee (EAC), the permanent panel within the Environment Ministry that deals with clearance to infrastructure projects by September 13, well before the committee's next meeting between September 20 to 22.

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has made a detailed submission to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting his "help and support" in getting "early clearances and sanction". Chavan, who had met the Prime Minister last week, has listed out the measures being taken to address the environmental issues.