EIA Notification 2006 Amendment
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Forest Ministry goes development-friendly - Indian Express, 26 March 2009
Imran Khan
First Published : 26 Mar 2009 03:17:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 26 Mar 2009 11:36:59 AM IST
BANGALORE: With elections around the corner, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has planned to go development friendly.
In order to facilitate the industries to acquire environmental clearance, the Ministry is planning to amend the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification of 2006.
Terming this move �political appeasement,� environmentalists allege that the Ministry had completely violated the Election Commission�s code of conduct wherein it states that �no significant change in existing policy, scheme or programme of the state is allowed at the time of elections.� The amendment of the notification does not come under the Election Commission�s code of conduct, says Kanwar Pal, Secretary Forest and Environment Department.
According to him, the notification, constitutionally, comes under the Environmental Protection Agency.
That�s why, he says, any prohibition from the EC doesn�t apply to it.
Refuting his claim, environmentalists say the draft EIA notification was put up on the Ministry website on Jan 19. It takes 60 days to go through a round of process and that falls on March 19.
They say that it definitely comes under the EC�s code of conduct.
As part of the �Campaign for Environmental Justice India,� a conglomerate of more than 500 environmentalists seeking suspension of the proposed amendments, Leo Saldanha of ESG, said: �The Indian Environment Ministry proposes by way of this amendment, to allow highly-polluting industry and infrastructure sectors to certify themselves pollution-free and thus escape compliance of stringent provisions of the environmental clearance process for three years.� �This situation has arisen (the Ministry admits) due to its failure to set up regulatory institutions such as the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority. The executive cannot escape from its obligatory functions simply because of want of resources, or incapacity. This concession amounts to the Income Tax Dept giving assesses the possibility of declaring themselves exempt from tax for three years simply because there aren�t enough Filing officers!� Terming this preposterous, Leo says: �The Ministry is under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister of India, and the biggest beneficiaries of this exemption are the biggest corporates of India - several of who are our worst polluters.�
ESG is an independent not-for-profit organisation that promotes the cause of environmental and social justice through research, documentation, advocacy, training and campaign support. We aim to support the rights of local communities and voiceless ecosystems in a responsible, progressive manner that keeps contextual complexities in mind.