EIA Policy 2020
From Janes Arputharaj: A signatory to the Stockholm Declaration (1972) on Environment, India enacted laws to control water (1974) and air (1981) pollution soon after. But it was only after the Bhopal gas leak disaster in 1984 that the country legislated an umbrella Act for environmental protection in 1986.
Under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, India notified its first EIA norms in 1994, setting in place a legal framework for regulating activities that access, utilise, and affect (pollute) natural resources. Every development project has been required to go through the EIA process for obtaining prior environmental clearance ever since.
The 1994 EIA notification was replaced with a modified draft in 2006 and now the draft EIA 2020.
Hundreds of projects - coal mining in the Dehing Patkai rainforest, Assam, doubling of railway line in the largest protected area in Goa, and the diversion of 778 acres of biodiversity rich Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand, to create facilities for the Kumbh Mela festival 2021at Haridwar - which threaten the environment and our precious natural resources were cleared in unseemly haste, after shoddy and superficial scrutiny, disregarding comprehensive long term impact analysis. Sixty-three former civil servants have urged the withdrawal of EIA and replace it with a more sensitive policy, which is people and habitat friendly. #withdraweia To make the Government listen, please write to
Joe Regis: EIA2020 is a regressive departure from its 2006 version. It is clearly an attempt to weaken environmental regulation and silence the affected communities. It is industries-friendly and seems to subvert the balance between sustainable development and environment protection. The post-facto clearance and negligible public participation with primary stakeholders are very contentious. We don’t need more man-made disasters. The present EIA draft of 2020 must be challenged tooth and nail.