Team Herald
PANJIM: Raising its strong opposition to the latest draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020, the Goa Foundation has urged Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to scrap the draft that proposed post facto approval for projects and doing away with public consultation for many projects.
The draft notification is going to replace the EIA notification 2006 that regulates the environment clearance given by the national government for projects such as dams, mining, thermal power plants, infrastructure projects like highways, ports, airport and big construction projects.
The draft exempts public consultations for projects including modernisation of irrigation projects, buildings, construction and area development projects, inland waterways, expansion or widening of national highways, all projects concerning national defence and security etc.
The draft provides environment clearance validity for 50 years for mining projects, against 30 years in the present notification; 15 years from river valley projects against 10 years.
In a letter to Secretary MoEF&CC, the Goa Foundation has said that EIA 2020 is a wholly inappropriate and unwanted piece of subordinate legislation and that it should be withdrawn and permanently shelved. “It is contrary to the objects of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) 1986,” the NGO said.
GF director Claude Alvares said the very intent of issuing the draft appears to be mala fide. It is not to protect the environment – which is the purpose of the EPA 1986 – but to enable “ease of doing business,” an objective that is outside the scope of the EPA; therefore it is also contrary to law.
“Our unequivocal demand is that the draft EIA 2020 be scrapped totally. Its objective – enabling ease of doing business – is extraneous to the EPA 1986. By seeking to allow several dilutions and discount public consultations it is actually contrary to the law and EPA objectives,” he said.
Alvares said the draft notification attempts to “weaken” the 2006 EIA notification, creates chaos with sting of industries and goes on to remove the need for public consultation for several classes of industry, thereby simply dismantling the EIA process.
“The approach represented by the draft notification is wrong, muddled, ineffective and counter-productive. One should not attempt to achieve “ease of doing business” by diluting and relaxing environment norms,” he charged.
He also warned that the draft, which is so complicated and confusing, will ensure endless litigation and even greater delays for projects.
“Therefore, it is better that your Ministry does a re-think. Simply cancel this draft, and improve the 2006 version – which is easier and better to do. Improve the EIA 2006 by simplifying it,” Alvares demanded.
He said the post facto Environmental Clearances (ECs) or retrospective ECs have been explicitly held by the Supreme Court to be alien to environmental jurisprudence. He also said that public consultation should be must for all projects.
