Green nods eased in 5 years of NDA govt: Official data

NEW DELHI: Environmental clearance processes across industrial sectors have eased since the NDA assumed office, according to a compilation of official documents related to environment impact assessment (EIA) between December 2014 and January 2019. Industry bodies have welcomed the simplification of rules, documented in the compilation published by the environment ministry last Tuesday, but environmental experts say ecological concerns have, in the process, been overlooked. For example, on August 10, 2018, the ministry stipulated standard environmental clearance conditions for 25 industrial sectors such as coal mining, iron and steel plants, industrial estates, river valley and hydroelectric projects to speed up the process of granting clearances.

Environmental experts said the uniform format overlooks the unique ecological concerns related to individual projects.

“For example, if you have a power plant on the coast or inland, the environmental concerns are different. This is not captured,” said Kanchi Kohli, legal researcher at think tank Centre for Policy Research.

On March 15, 2016, the ministry, for the first time, delegated authority to grant environmental clearances for up to 5 hectares of individual mining lease of minor minerals and 25 hectares in clusters to the district EIA authority headed by the local district magistrate or district collector.