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Rating system for state environment impact assessment authority (SEIAA)
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- The Indian government introduced a star-rating system for state environment impact assessment authorities (SEIAAs) to improve their efficiency and accountability.
- However, the system seems to penalize them for following the 2006 EIA notification, which regulates the clearance of projects.
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The faulty compliance module
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- The MoEFCC released a notification on June 14, 2022, introducing a compliance module for projects that have received environmental clearance under the 2006 EIA notification.
- The module aims to simplify the compliance and monitoring process and prevent delays in the submission of compliance reports to regulatory authorities.
- However, it is unclear whether the reports and supporting documents will be accessible to the public.
- Proponents upload the information on MoEFCC’s Parivesh portal using their unique credentials, which may not be publicly available.
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Undermining the public hearing process
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- The process of public hearing involves public consultation, where comments on the draft EIA report are considered, and a gathering presided over by district officials to hear the concerns of stakeholders.
- However, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued an office memorandum in October 2021 allowing for a 20% expansion in production in the mining of minor minerals based only on public consultation, undermining the public hearing process.
- In addition, legacy mining cases granted environmental clearance under the 1994 EIA notification now only have to conduct public consultation, not follow the entire process of a public hearing.
- The public consultation process does not mandate the proponent to inform stakeholders via popular media about the project, its expansion or modification.
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Extra details sought viewed as a burden
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- According to the 2006 EIA notification, the Central and state authorities responsible for granting environmental clearance to projects have the right to seek additional details from project proponents if necessary.
- However, an office memorandum issued by the MoEFCC in June 2021 directed authorities to refrain from asking for Extra Details Sought (EDS) and Additional Details Sought (ADS) that are not relevant to the project appraisal.
- This direction undermines the legitimacy of the experts nominated by the ministry for project appraisal.
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Change in coal source without amendment
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- The ministry allowed coal thermal power plants to change their coal source without considering the potential increase in emissions resulting from the long-distance transport of coal from mines to the plants.
- The government’s directive aimed to increase India’s reliance on domestic coal and allowed power plants to change from one domestic source of coal to another without considering the environmental impact of long-distance transport of coal.
- Additionally, the ministry allowed for road transport of coal until the railway lines are laid in the area, diminishing the urgency to build railways to reduce emissions from coal transport.
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Violation cases get recognition under the 2006 EIA notification:
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- In December 2017, the MoEFCC added a provision to the 2006 EIA notification to grant “post-facto” clearance to projects that were in violation of the notification.
- This provision legitimizes projects that have already violated environmental laws and may lead to increased environmental degradation.
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