Thread by @yamunajiye

#Demystifying #EIANotification Part II
PURPOSE
Part I was abt #Evolution. This is abt #Purpose.
Purpose of #EIANotification is to properly assess in #advance d likely environmental impacts of planned developmental ‘#projects’ so that informed decisions cud be made well in time +

& then a #competent #authority (CA) could either accord or decline an EC (#EnvironmentClearance) to a project proponent (PP).
Presumption of course is that d CA is bound by its constitutional duty under Article 48A & d preamble of EPA1986 to ‘protect’ & ‘improve’ d environment.

Project
‘#project’ has been defined as “expansion or modernization of any activity (if pollution load is to exceed the existing one) or new project listed in Schedule I to d notification.”
#Competent #Authority (CA)
In #EIA1994Notification d CA was d Central Government +

for all listed projects except captive thermal power plants by Industries for which State govt was d CA.
In #EIA2006Notification projects and activities were categorized as A or B. All Category A projects or activities required prior EC from d Central Government while for all+

category B projects (with few exceptions) a new competent authority called d #SEIAA (State Environment Impact Assessment Authority) was created.
In #DraftEIA2020Notification there is a further hair splitting and projects are now to be categorized as A, B1 and B2 with +

'A' having central government as its CA & 'B1 & B2' SEIAA as their CA.
Majority of d projects in B2 wud require only a prior EP (Environment Permission) & not EC & shall not undergo any appraisal.
Notably list B2 consists of projects with high potential of env impacts like+

#Mining (minor mineral) lease area of < or = 5 ha; All #Exploration of Oil and Gas; upto 25MW of #HEP; All micro, small & medium #enterprises; Commercial #WaterAerodromes, Commercial #Heliports; All projects in respect of #InlandWaterways; Expansion of #NH, #Expressways or

multimodal corridors or ring roads on existing alignments or realignments or bypasses by length less than 100 Km; Expansion or widening of existing #statehighways; #BuildingConstruction or #areaDevelopmentprojects from 20,000 sq m upto 50,000 sq m built up area; +

#BuildingConstruction upto 150,000 sq m built up area if d building has a provisional certificate of green building or relates to industrial shed, educational institutions, hospitals or hostels for educational institutions; #ElevatedRoads or standalone #flyovers+

or #bridges of area exceeding 150,000 sq m built up.
Notably most of these projects presently need an appraisal & prior EC.

Prior Approval
While #EIANotifications frm 1994 & 2006 as well as draft2020 speak of Prior Approval of a Project for EC & now EP in case of B2 projects

#DraftEIANotification2020 has inserted Para 22 and 23 that seeks to address '#Violations' & '#Failure to fulfill EC conditions' by a Project Proponent.

In other words, a PP can now ignore d requirement of Prior Approval or fulfilling d EC conditions & if caught plead innocence

& get her/his project regularised 'post facto' with a compounding fee.
This #Dilution tries to turn on its head d adage “Ignorance of law is no excuse” & is like a back hand invitation to violate d Law of d land with impunity & confidence that worse wud b a civil liability.

Para22,23 r in d teeth of SC Judgments by J Chandrachur in Alembic Pharmaceutical (April 1, 2020) & by J Lokur in 'Common Cause' (2017) #holding:
D concept of an ex post facto or a #retrospective EC is completely alien to environmental jurisprudence including EIA 1994 & EIA 2006

Quote:
"Allowing for an ex post facto clearance wud essentially condone d operation of industrial activities without d grant of an EC.
In the absence of an EC, there wud be no conditions that would safeguard d environment.
Moreover, if the EC was to be ultimately refused, +

irreparable harm wud hv been caused to d environment. In either view of d matter, #environment #Law cannot countenance d notion of an ex post facto clearance. This would be contrary to both d precautionary principle as well as d need for sustainable development."
Unquote.

Clearly d #DraftEIANotification2020 is embedded with agendas & hence falls awfully short of d mandates of both d Art48A of d Constitution & d preamble of Environment (Protection) Act 1986 which puts a #Duty on d #State to 'Protect & Improve d Environment.

Sadly @moefcc has unfortunately failed its own mandate by amongst other things, creation of project category B2 and insertion of Para 22 and 23 in d #DraftEIANotification2020.
This is for today.

Next time we shall address the #EIA #PROCESS highlighting infirmities therein.

Word of Caution.
A #legal #Instrument that is verbose or detailed is not necessarily good. Often it becomes, implementer's #nightmare, a violator's #pride & d #playground of lawyers.
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