Day 51 – Q 5.What are the main principles of environmental impact assessment (EIA)? Is EIA central to various infrastructure projects in India? Examine.

5. What are the main principles of environmental impact assessment (EIA)? Is EIA central to various infrastructure projects in India? Examine. 

पर्यावरणीय प्रभाव मूल्यांकन (ईआईए) के मुख्य सिद्धांत क्या हैं? क्या भारत में विभिन्न बुनियादी ढांचा परियोजनाओं के लिए ईआईए केंद्रीय है? जांच करें।

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is one of the tools available with the planners to achieve the goal of harmonising development activities with the environmental concerns. EIA in India is statutorily backed by the Environment Protection Act 1986, which contains the provisions on EIA procedures.

Body 

Main Principles of EIA 

• Purposive: The process should inform decision making and result in appropriate levels of environmental protection and community well-being.

• Participative: The process should provide appropriate opportunities to inform and involve the interested and affected publics, and their inputs and concerns should be addressed explicitly in the documentation and decision making.

• Rigorous: The process should apply best practicable science, employing methodologies and techniques appropriate to address the problems being investigated.

• Interdisciplinary: The process should ensure that the appropriate techniques and experts in the relevant bio-physical and socio-economic disciplines are employed, including use of traditional knowledge as relevant.

• Practical: The process should result in information and outputs which assist with problem solving and are acceptable to and able to be implemented by proponents.

• Credible: The process should be carried out with professionalism, rigor, fairness, objectivity, impartiality and balance and be subject to independent checks and verification.

• Cost-effective: The process should achieve the objectives of EIA within the limits of available information, time, resources and methodology.

• Integrated: The process should address the interrelationships of social, economic and biophysical aspects.

• Efficient: The Process should impose the minimum cost burdens in terms of time and finance on proponents and participants consistent with meeting accepted requirements and objectives of EIA.

• Transparent: The process should have clear, easily understood requirements for EIA content, ensure public access to the information, identify the factors that are taken into account in decision making and acknowledge limitations and difficulties.

• Focused: The process should concentrate on significant environmental effects and key issues i.e. the matters that need to be taken into account in making decisions.

EIA is central to various projects in India:

• EIA started in India in 1976-77, when planning commission directed the Department of Science and Technology to assess the river valley projects from the point of view of Environment. 

• Several Acts and Amendments like Environmental Protection Act(EPA) 1986, EPA Amendment Act 2006 have made provisions for EIA more stronger.

• In 1982, the Environment Ministry has setup Environmental Information System (ENVIS) with the purpose of collecting, collating, storing, retrieving and disseminating information related to environment.

•  This has ensured peaceful operations and conflict management in many mining and manufacturing sites in India. Example- Operations in Coal Belt of India, Singareni Coal fields etc.

• Government has time and again appointed committees to look into environmental protection. Example- Gadgil and Kasturirangan Committees on Western Ghats ecology. 

• Recently, Bombay High court judgement cancelled the Mumbai Coastal Road project stating work cannot proceed without obtaining an environmental clearance under EIA, is indicative of the importance of EIA for projects in India.

However, EIA has been side-lined many times and is not given significance. The Tuticorin Sterlite Issue, where locals and activists have accused improper environmental assessment. Karnataka and Kerala have been opposing Gadgil and Kasturirangan committee report declaring Western Ghats as eco-sensitive, depicts the lower significance given to Environmental Assessment. 

Conclusion 

There is a need to strengthen the implementation of EIA, Independent EIA Authority is required for fair and objective decisions. There is also a need for centralised data bank for storing information and the transparency must be maintained in dissemination of all information related to projects from notification to clearance to local communities and general public.