Following demand from the environmentalists and Opposition amid Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has extended time from May 22 to August end for public comments on the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification which proposes various relaxations for infrastructure projects while extending the validity of environmental clearance in various sectors by several years.
The draft notification which is expected to significantly overhaul the environmental clearance process for all infrastructure projects in the country was issued by the Union Environment ministry on March 23 and almost the entire sixty-day period for public scrutiny of the draft coincided with the lockdown period.
The nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25 and has been extended till May 17.
Former environment minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had tweeted on May 1 that Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had put out the draft EIA notification giving 60 days for public comments. “This deadline should be extended by 3 months at least due to covid 19 to enable better understanding of the changes proposed.” BJP MP, Rajeev Chandrasekhar also tweeted saying, “Dear Prakash Javadekar ji please extend 60-day time for comments on draft
EIA notification 2020 given Coronavirus crisis. This deserves a good, robust public discussion of changes proposed.”
CK Mishra, secretary, environment said, “The time period for public consultations is likely to be extended till August.”
One of the main objectives of the draft is to bring those industries or projects under regulation which have violated the EIA 2006 notification by starting construction work before environmental clearance is granted or by expanding capacity.
“Dealing with violation cases” is an entirely new section in the draft notification compared to the EIA notification 2006.
The draft increases the validity of the environment clearances.
The draft provides environment clearance validity for 50 years for mining projects, against 30 years in the present notification and 15 years for river valley projects against 10 years.