The new E.I.A notification includes certain provisions which could end up diluting the E.I.A process, especially the public consultation aspect. It provides for a reduction of time period from 30 days to 20 days for the public to submit their responses during a public hearing for any application seeking environmental clearance.
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| Image: Environment Impact Assessment 2020. |
What is meant by E.I.A?
E ssentially, environmental impact assessment (E.I.A) is an environmental decision support tool, which provides information on the likely impacts of development projects to those who take the decision as to whether the project should be authorised. E.I.A forms part of the spectrum of environmental assessment (E.I.A) processes.E.I.A and its importance.
Creation of Environmental Impact Assessment (E.I.A) system is vital to conform socio-economic development projects to environmental safety and thereby ensure sustainable economic development. It helps the planning and management to take long-term measures for effective management as well as environment conservation.The E.I.A Assessing Types.
- Strategic E.I.A (SEIA):
- Regional E.I.A:
- Sectoral E.I.A:
- Project Level E.I.A:
- Life Cycle Assessment:
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Caption Quoted - Environment Impact Assessment 2020. |
Who Uses E.I.A Data ?
In this context, the term "environmental impact assessment" (E.I.A) is usually used when applied to actual projects by individuals or companies and the term "strategic environmental assessment" (S.E.A) applies to policies, plans and programmes most often proposed by organs of state.
It is important to note that the E.I.A process does
not guarantee that a project will be modified or
rejected if the process reveals that there will be
serious environmental impacts. In some countries,
a decision-maker may, in fact, choose the most
environmentally-harmful alternative, as long as
the consequences are disclosed in the E.I.A. In
other words, the E.I.A process ensures an informed
decision, but not necessarily an environmentally beneficial decision.
In the present E.I.A Amendment bill don't carrying such assessments, Environmental precautions and have loop-holes-on-law to exploit our vegetation.
E.I.A Risk Explanation by @firozkhan (Malayalam).
The following draft prepared for submitting to The Environmental Ministry to acknowledging about the risk facts in current E.I.A Draft /Bill.
Send mail to this email ID.
The Draft
Indira Paryavaran Bhawan
Jor Bagh, New Delhi
In March 2020,
the ministry had proposed a draft notification to replace the 2006 document. The notification is at the stage of public comments. The new notification is being brought in order to make the process more transparent and expedient by implementation of an online system, further delegation, rationalisation and standardisation of the process.
The new notification includes certain provisions which could end up diluting the E.I.A process, especially the public consultation aspect. It provides for a reduction of time period from 30 days to 20 days for the public to submit their responses during a public hearing for any application seeking environmental clearance. It also requires that the public hearing process be completed in 40 days compared to 45 days under the 2006 notification. The main reason stated for reducing the time is that it would become easy for new investments to complete the formality of E.I.A.
The risk fact is that if adequate time is not given for the preparation of views, comments and suggestions to those who would be affected by the project, then such public hearings would not be meaningful. In the Samarth Trust Case, the Delhi high court had considered E.I.As a part of participatory justice in which the voice is given to the voiceless and it is like a jan sunwai, where the community is the jury.
Unless a public hearing is meaningful, the whole E.I.A process would lack transparency and credibility. The reduction of time would particularly pose a problem in those areas where information is not easily accessible or areas in which people are not that well aware of the process itself. As the Supreme Court has said in several judgements over the years, the time for making any representation should be adequate and if it is not, then it would be a violation of the principles of natural justice.
Even though the notification provides for the dissemination of information relating to public hearings through newspapers (and where dissemination through newspapers is not possible then by beating of drums or through radio or TV), the problem still remains. The issue of concern here is not the notice for public hearing but the access to information on which the affected people need to comment.
Suggestion- rather than compromise on the time needed for gathering public opinion, the government should focus on bringing down the average delay of 238 days in granting environmental clearance. In Kerala, the administration took 1,049 days to clear the construction of the IT park project of M/s T Tech Park Ltd, instead of 105 days.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Citizen
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Posted On :
August 10, 2020
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