08/08/2020 - Environment

KEY POINTS

In the controversial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020 draft notification, published in March, the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change sets out a process (Clause 22: “Dealing of Violations”) for post-hoc legalisation of projects that start construction and/or operation prior to receiving an environmental clearance.

EIA regulatory violations

·         In the context of the industrialisation-led economic development model, at the heart of the contestation is the question of what constitutes an appropriate trade-off between industrial development and environmental protection.

·         Dealing with projects that fail to obtain prior clearance has been a difficult issue for the regulator, since the project proponents could cite sunk investments if the penalty for violation involves shutting down the project.

·         On the other hand, post-hoc legalisation of such violations could lead to perverse incentives for the industry, rendering the entire regulation redundant.

Legalisation process

·         Further, according to Clause 22, only the violators themselves or a regulatory or governmental authority can bring the violation to notice. It is not clear from the notification if any other stakeholders, for example interested individuals or civil society organisations, have a legal basis to report violations.

Multi-stakeholder deliberation

·         The complexity involved in just one clause highlighted here is an indication of the need for a wider and more meaningful deliberation on the entire draft notification, beyond simply eliciting public comments.

·         The report, made available in the public domain, recorded the deliberations of the stakeholder meetings and provided a rationale for its recommendations.

·         Researchers argue that such participatory processes are likely to generate greater legitimacy for the regulations, potentially reducing conflict during implementation.

·         Combined with research which finds that conflicts arising out of environmental and social issues impose real costs on businesses, it is important that the agencies adopt a more deliberative approach that takes into account various stakeholder views.

Pls Review Sir 

Pls review