New Delhi: Ever since the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020 draft was issued by the Centre amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it has drawn sharp criticism from environmentalists, NGOs, opposition parties and civil society groups.
The contentious draft is inviting much criticism and concern, including student groups all across the country, who have sought its withdrawal.
Many activists have argued that this draft makes it easier for industries to escape environmental accountability. Many projects in the past have been declined approval after ecology experts had flagged concerns.
However, amid the growing demand to scrap the draft, it is very crucial to understand what EIA 2020 is all about and whether it is actually detrimental to India's ecological security, biodiversity, and the environment.
ETV Bharat spoke to renowned environmentalist Mubina Akhtar, who opined that the new draft is conducive for the ease of business of companies and the corporate sector, but the biggest fear is that the weapon could spell doom for nature and the environment.
Here are a few excerpts from the interview:
Q - What is the EIA draft 2020?
Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) has been the process which studies the effect of a proposed industrial/infrastructural project on the environment and communities. In 1994, India got her first EIA norms — a legal framework for regulating activities concerning natural resources. An EIA notification is issued under Section 3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, which lays out the process of conducting EIAs to appraise a project. Based on these assessments, projects get approved or denied environmental clearance by a panel of experts. EIA also suggests options for mitigation of impact and course of action in case of disaster.
Read: EIA 2020 draft's objective is 'loot of the nation', must be withdrawn: Rahul Gandhi
The 1994 notification was replaced in 2006. But the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change proposed to change the 2006 notification and a new draft - Draft EIA 2020 Notification - has been brought out by the government earlier this year to make the EIA "process more transparent and expedient" that in turn has drawn flak for its regressive departure from the earlier version.
Q - What changes make this Draft so controversial? How does it differ from EIA 2006?
There have been specific areas of concern in the changes brought about in Draft EIA 2020 - most significant being the provisions for post-facto project clearance; dilution and in some cases elimination of the process of public consultation; and re-categorization of projects so as to exempt a wide range of projects from the scrutiny of Appraisal Committees and public consultation/benefits to projects through various clauses.
Post-facto project clearance: The EIA process under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, prevents industrial and infrastructural projects from being approved without proper scrutiny and also ensures that projects need to go through the EIA process for obtaining prior environmental clearance.
Read: Objections over EIA draft are 'unnecessary and premature': Javadekar
But the new draft allows post-facto clearance meaning that even if a project has come up without environment safeguards or without getting environment clearances, it could carry out its operation under the provision of the Draft EIA 2020. This amendment fundamentally defeats the purpose of Environment Clearance.
Dilution and in some cases elimination of the process of public consultation: Conducting a public hearing has been crucial in the EIA process and has significantly helped communities to not only get information about the projects being proposed in their areas but also to speak about their concerns. EIA 2020 Draft exempts a long list of projects from public consultation. For example, linear projects such as roads and pipelines in border areas will not require any public hearing.
Re-categorization of projects so as to exempt a wide range of projects from the scrutiny of Appraisal Committees and public consultation: The re-categorization and placing of a large number of polluting industries in Category B2 which do not require scrutiny by Appraisal Committees and in many cases also do not require prior environment clearance or public consultation, are against the EIA 2006 and the Environment Protection Act 1986. The most blatant is the virtual elimination of regulations and scrutiny for the real estate and construction sector.
Read: EIA 2020 meant to promote crony capitalist friends of PM Modi: Congress
Hazardous chemicals pose a grave threat to the environment and public health. The handling of hazardous waste was given due importance in the 2006 notification and placed in Category A. This provision has been removed from the EIA 2020 Draft
Q - How is Draft EIA 2020 a threat to India's ecological security and the environment?
The provision for Post-facto approval in itself is an assault on the country's ecological security. As 'post-facto approval' would be done in case the project 'can be run sustainably' and no definition of sustainability has been provided, it could be fairly concluded that a project may run sustainably but still cause environmental damage. In a way, projects will be allowed to continue even if they have not obtained Environment Clearance.
The 2020 draft also spells out how the government will take cognizance of violations. It has to be reported either by a government authority or the developers themselves. There is no scope for any public complaint about violations not even provision for representation by scientific, environmental or wildlife experts or any other civil society organization when it comes to cognition of violation. So there would be practically no scrutiny for even the most polluted projects or eco damaging projects coming up in the most ecologically fragile regions.
Q - Can the new draft impact the Northeast? How do you see it?
The case becomes more complicated when it comes to the Northeast because of its "strategic" location. The region shares much of its border with China, Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The 'border area' is defined in EIA 2020 Draft as "area falling within 100 kilometres aerial distance from the Line of Actual Control." A bigger threat now looms large on the region's forests and critical wildlife habitats with large scale endemism and famed biodiversity.
There are some 150 hydroelectric projects in the pipeline in Arunachal Pradesh invested by Public Sector undertakings as well as private groups. There has been apprehension that many of these projects - considered threat to the life and livelihood of different indigenous communities and also for the rare and endemic biodiversity of the region - might get "cleared" under the "strategic" tag of the new draft. Because of the region's highly seismic location and its fragile ecosystems, EIA is a must for any project before it gets clearance in the Northeast.
The blowout and the consequent inferno at an oil well, operated by Oil India Limited at Baghjan in Assam and the catastrophe that followed has been a classic example where due to poor adherence of environment norms, severe damage had been caused to livelihoods, biodiversity and the environment as a whole. The new Draft in a way legitimizes such violation, providing a window to get clearance by adding punitive clauses which itself have no mechanism to monitor.
Q - Why are experts opposing the EIA draft 2020?
I, personally see the Draft EIA 2020 as a regressive departure from its earlier version. The new draft is conducive for the companies and corporate sector for the ease of doing business, but I fear it becomes the weapon that could spell doom for nature and the environment. The new draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020 proposed by the Union government is a regressive departure from the 2006 version that it seeks to replace. It is an attempt to weaken environmental regulation and silence affected communities. The draft seems to favour the industries and seems to be largely neglecting the balance between sustainable development and environment protection.
