The Environment Ministry has constituted yet another expert appraisal committee to clear the backlog of projects, particularly related to infrastructure and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). With this newly-constituted panel, there will now be two expert appraisal committees under the Ministry to assess these crucial pending projects and expedite their approval.
According to sources in the Ministry, there is a list of more than 450 projects for processing at different levels, and about 40-50 percent of them are related to infrastructure. This second committee is thus expected to ease out this pressure.
The committee formed for three years is to meet every month and under general circumstances would complete appraisal of projects in a single meeting unless the information put before the committee by the project authority is found to be incomplete.
Dr T Haque, Director and Chief executive of the Council for Social Development, will head this 12-member committee. The panel will also include a professor in Economics, a representative of the Central Building Research Institute, the Indian Meteorological Department, a member from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), an urban planner, among others.
The existing expert appraisal committee had already been meeting once every month. Each of these meetings that often run into three-four days, has been considering 40-60 projects each time.
It was not possible for the committee members to meet more frequently than they already are and clear applications, pointed out the sources. Hence, in this situation second panel was necessary as the main source for concern is the pending infrastructure projects. These would henceforth be divided between the two committees, the sources added.
Accordingly, the second expert appraisal committee for infrastructure and CRZ will appraise all applications related to airports, ship breaking yards, hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities, ports, aerial ropeways, common effluence treatment plants, municipal solid waste management. This committee will also look at building and construction projects, townships and area development proposals, they informed.
Meanwhile, the existing committee, also comprising 12 members, will largely act on projects related to transport-infrastructure across various states and the National Highways Authority of India besides a few other sectors.
As per procedures, all project proposals are first screened by an impact assessment division, before placing them before the appraisal committees.
The latter then take up the proposals, conduct site visits wherever necessary, and either recommend them or reject them for environment clearance citing requisite reasons. These committees are also expected to recommend environment impact mitigation measures.