It is good that the Government has kicked off a process to unshackle the infrastructure sector from the green stranglehold. But it must not dismiss genuine environmental concerns in the process of easing the stifling norms
The past decade has seen urban infrastructure projects move in a slow motion, thanks to the suffocating norms that, in the name of conserving the environment, have had a paralytic impact on the pace of development. There is a need to rationalise the norms and yet make them impactful so that development and environmental conservation can be ensured simultaneously. The Modi Government has been doing that by diligently working to simplify and ease green clearance norms so that key infrastructure projects are not held up. The recent move by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, to amend the Environment Impact Assessment notification, 2006, is one such initiative that is poised to put infrastructure projects into an overdrive. Under the new draft notification, the Government has made it mandatory only for residential buildings, commercial structures, hotels, hospitals, hostels, office blocks, IT parks and software development units — with built-up area of more than or equalling 20,000 square metre but less than 1,50,000 square metre — to be assessed for their impact on the environment. The step is aimed to boost the economy by removing green hurdles that have been blocking construction projects and townships, besides plugging the loopholes in the existing norms.
This move, coupled with easing in norms for foreign direct investment in the construction sector, is expected to lend momentum to the construction of smart cities, one of Mr Narendra Modi’s dream projects. The original notification of 2006, issued under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, made it mandatory for all kinds of building and construction projects to seek environmental clearances before the construction could begin. The move to tone down the EIA notification proposes to change this and the same has not gone well with environmental activists who see this as a compromise on the state of environment and burden on precious natural resources.
The draft EIA norms gives the impression that only certain structures have an impact on the environment, whereas, other buildings like educational institutions, sporting infrastructure like stadiums, religious buildings like temples and mosques, industrial units, bus depots and metro stations, which are neither commercial nor residential, will have no impact on the environment. This assumption prima facie defies logic and needs to be addressed.
It is of critical importance that the Government does not lose support of the people by drafting an amendment that may have glaring variances. For instance, the UPA regime lost confidence by not including structures like barrages, bridges and embankments on rivers, with huge environmental impacts, and the railways sector, also with huge environmental impact in the EIA notification.
The present Government should change this situation in order to avoid a serious compromise to the ecological integrity. The Government must also strive to assess projects on basis of their impact on the environment and de-link the assessment from the type of project.
The involvement of stakeholders is an integral part of the EIA processes, and the framing of norms should reflect this as well as in the form of debates and suggestions that find their rightful place, in order to arrive at an unhurried conclusion. In order to enable enriched participation of the stakeholders, the platform for civil society and Government’s interaction should be strengthened so that it can have a positive influence on the development policies and programmes. This will have a cascading effect in helping to solve common problems and shape a more desirable future in the context of sustainable development.
A healthy interaction between the public and the Government will also assist in removing distrust and enable good governance. In order to ensure that the participation in such discussions is meaningful, the Government must also facilitate full and effective involvement of women, tribal groups, and other traditionally marginalised sections of society. However, to make the EIA truly reflective of public opinion, the Government must assure the availability of accurate information to the stakeholders. Besides, it must provide effective recourse to judicial remedies in the event of any grievance.
In the present circumstances, the Government can endear itself to the stakeholders by addressing the popular perceptions which are a crucial aspect of a democracy, especially those concerned with the well-being of the environment. The Government can give weightage to such opinion by responding with a dynamic strategy that seeks to give a shot in the arm to urban development projects in the initial stages in order to get them out of the present stalemate and off the ground. Once the desired level of progress is achieved, the tighter norms can kick in. This will bolster confidence in the Union Government and in its objectives.