All about EIA controversy

WHAT IS EIA?

Environment Impact Assessment or EIA is a study to predict the effect of a proposed change or project on the environment. It is decision-making tool used for comparing various alternatives for the project and seeks to identify which one of the alternatives represents the best combination of economic and environmental costs as well as benefits.

EVOLUTION OF EIA IN INDIA

In January 1994, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, GOI under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 introduced EIA notification making Environment Clearance (EC) mandatory for expansion or modernization of any existing project or for setting up a new project, listed in Schedule 1 of the notification.

Since its inception, there have been a total of 12 amendments so far in the 1994 notification.

EIA NOTIFICATION, 2020

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)on March 12 proposed a draft EIA notification containing a set of new rules that will replace the 2006 notification and purports to make the existing norms more “transparent and expedient” With an online system in issuing environment clearances to the projects. But the same has attracted a heavy criticism by environmental activists.

List few changes proposed by MoEFCC proposed in the draft:

• The new draft allows for post-facto approval for projects, meaning that the clearances for projects can be awarded even if they have started construction without securing environmental clearances.
• Public consultation process under the draft notification is reduced from 30 days to 20 days giving less time to the public to submit their responses during a public hearing for any application seeking environmental clearance.
• The draft asks a project promoter to file a compliance report once a year, explaining the activities carried out by them according to the allotted permissions. The 2006 EIA notification asks the promoters to file a compliance report every six months.
• According to new set of notifications, government will have the authority to categories the projects as “strategic”. For a “strategic project”, the government shall disclose no information to public.

LATEST DEVELOPMENT

MoEFCC issued a notification extending the deadline until June 30 for inviting the objections or suggestions of public on new draft EIA notifications.

The Delhi High Court stated that there was “ambiguity” in the Centre’s decision extending time till June 30 for giving objections and suggestions to its 2020 EIA draft notification, terming it as “unfair” to the public and has extended it till August 11,2020