Background of EIA
The ideology of initiating Environment Impact Assessment is to identify impacts of social, economic, and environmental projects in advance for its actions and decision making. It’s begin assessed as a tool for prediction, says the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It focuses on anticipating environmental impacts prior, approval of projects that suit the local environment, and a chance to decision-makers as projects need green clearances.
Flaws of EIA draft 2020
The draft has controversial proposals against the fight of the environment.
(i) The proposal has two diverse approaches, first thing environment clearance(EC) will approve by the expert committees and the second thing is, Environmental provision or permission(EP) accessed without the approval of expert committees. This draft has excluded 40 different projects like digging wells or extraction, solar thermal power plants, the foundation of buildings from prior EP or EC.
(ii) The draft has insisted on the removal of involving social-activist towards environmental concern and public consultation.
(iii) B2 Projects like the production of halogens, irrigation, building construction, chemical fertilizers, acid manufacturing, highways, roads, and flyovers are excluded from the public consultation.
(iv)This EIA 2020 draft excludes public reporting about violations also activists are not allowed to raise out their voice. Instead, only the government authority, organization authority, Regulatory authority, or Appraisal Committee has the right to report.
(iv) To add on, the notice period was cut down from 30days to 20days for a public hearing that made it difficult to reach people in a short duration since it was not available in regional languages.
Overall new draft regulation seems to function in the benefit of industrial authorities ignoring the concerned personalities.