Tamil Nadu youth groups write to Environment Minister to put on hold new EIA draft notification

Over 75 youth groups from Tamil Nadu urged the Environment Ministry to put on hold a new environmental impact assessment (EIA) draft notification, saying it has several "controversial amendments". The letter, addressed to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, by the youth groups has been signed by several groups including social, political and environmental organisations.

Chennai (Tamil Nadu):Over 75 youth groups from Tamil Nadu urged the Environment Ministry to put on hold a new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) draft notification, saying it has several "controversial amendments".

The letter, addressed to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, by the youth groups has been signed by several groups including social, political and environmental organisations.

Copy of the letter written by youth groups (1)

The youth groups have stated that the move to push the latest notification is 'irresponsible, reckless and insensitive' to the rights of young people and future generations who will inherit the environment.

Copy of the letter written by youth groups (2)

"The proposed EIA Notification weakens the body of laws that protect the environment at a time when we need to be strengthening such statutes. Worse, the proposed rules seek to enrich businesses and the corporate sector by emasculating democracy, limiting public participation and due diligence, and rewarding environmental offenders by facilitating post facto environmental clearances for projects that begin or are completed without a license. We are youngsters from the coastal city of Chennai and its surroundings", said in a letter addressed to Javdekar.

"As a city that limps from one environmental disaster to another – water scarcity, flooding, cyclones and heat waves – we are painfully aware of the consequences of taking nature for granted. The voices of today’s youth, and the aspirations of future generations have to be taken into account in designing today’s policies and legislation. Such law-making cannot be left in the hands of older people with little stake in the future. Informed and wise politics would demonstrate a commitment to keep alive life on this planet for several millennial more and avoid the temptation of succumbing to immediate political and economic expediency", the letter reads.

The youth group further urged the Ministry of the environment to abandon the proposed draft and suggested to participate in an exercise to strengthen the environment.

"We request you to abandon this draft, to commit yourself to our well-being and future and initiate a wide-ranging participatory exercise to strengthen our environmental laws, and bring our development and economic plans in line with the increasingly visible limits being imposed by nature", it added.

The letter also includes a detailed critique to the proposed amendment:

1. Requirement of Prior Environment Clearance or Prior Environment Permission: The proposal to give permissions for fencing and levelling without any EC is flawed. Levelling involves the transformation of a landscape. The low-lying areas which may be natural drain channels, marshlands, water bodies etc. can get filled up and changed due to levelling work thus impacting local ecology. Such allowances cannot be made without comprehensive study in the EIA and consideration by experts of EAC.
2. Preparation of Environment Impact Assessment Report:The condition for collecting a baseline data study or one season study for an EIA is completely flawed, unscientific and unacceptable. We reiterate that in order to make a report on the estimated impact of any activity, it is a must that three-season study be done as that would give a better picture of seasonal variations and help predict impacts.
3. Public Consultation: In the environment clearance process, public consultation is a fundamental component. In the latest draft, the MoEFCC proposes to expand the list of projects that are exempt from public consultation. These include modernization of irrigation projects, all building, construction and area development projects, inland waterways, expansion or widening of national highways, all projects concerning national defence and security or involving “other strategic considerations” as determined by the central government, all linear projects like pipelines in border areas and all the off-shore projects located beyond the 12 nautical miles.
4. Post Facto Approvals:Instead of focusing on ensuring the protection of the environment, the draft EIA 2020 undermines the orders of the National Green Tribunal which had ruled against post-facto approvals. It seems like the purpose of this notification is to legitimize illegalities done by industries. It makes a mockery of the Environment Protection Act by suggesting that an industrial project that has violated the process of seeking approvals will have a right to seek approval despite the wrongdoings.