New Delhi: The union atmosphere ministry has obtained nicely over 100,000 feedback and solutions from individuals on the draft atmosphere influence evaluation (EIA) notification of 2020 that some inexperienced activists say may severely undermine environmental regulation in India.
“The variety of feedback is means over a lakh. We’re nonetheless compiling the submissions. We now have been overwhelmed with the variety of feedback,” stated a senior atmosphere ministry official who declined to be recognized. The suggestions was primarily based on the rely as of Friday. The deadline for submission of suggestions is Tuesday.
Environmental activists have been crucial of the draft EIA notification, which was printed by the atmosphere ministry in March, due to plenty of contentious clauses that they are saying may weaken environmental regulation.
“The federal government itself will flip its coverage interventions into horror tales on the bottom if tasks should not put by rigourous, EIA procedures in an neutral method,” stated Manju Menon, authorized researcher at Centre for Coverage Analysis
The notification turned a possible difficulty for a political debate on Sunday when Congress chief Rahul Gandhi stated the notification was “not solely disgraceful, it’s harmful.”
#IndiaNotForSale was additionally trending on Twitter which had individuals drawing consideration to considerations over the draft notification and demanding it’s withdrawn. Not solely does it have the potential to reverse most of the hard-fought-for positive aspects which have been gained through the years within the battle to guard India’s atmosphere, it may doubtlessly unleash “widespread environmental destruction and mayhem throughout India,” Gandhi wrote in a prolonged submit on a social media platform.
He highlighted contentious clauses and stated if a undertaking is labelled strategic, extremely polluting industries may very well be exempted from the atmosphere influence evaluation course of and that an EIA may be carried out submit facto, after a undertaking has already violated the EIA notification by beginning development with out getting an environmental clearance.
“This EIA 2020 draft is a catastrophe. It seeks to silence the voice of communities who will probably be instantly impacted by the environmental degradation it unleashes. I urge each Indian to stand up and protest in opposition to it. Our youth, who’ve at all times been on the forefront of each battle to guard our surroundings, should take up this trigger and make it their very own. A battle to guard our surroundings cuts throughout political and ideological beliefs,” Gandhi wrote, including: “If nothing else, the current Covid19 pandemic has proven us how fragile human life is. For hundreds of thousands of Indians already residing on the sting, the atmosphere isn’t an summary time period, however a life and livelihood difficulty. If EIA 2020 is notified by the federal government, the long-term penalties of the widespread environmental degradation will probably be catastrophic for us and future generations of Indians.”
Congress chief and former atmosphere minister and chairman of the parliamentary committee on science, know-how, atmosphere and forests, Jairam Ramesh, wrote to Union atmosphere minister Prakash Javadekar greater than as soon as final month, elevating these considerations. Javadekar additionally responded in writing, suggesting that the considerations have been “unfounded” and primarily based on “misrepresentation.”
There was a lot controversy across the draft additionally as a result of Delhi Police issued a discover to a youth local weather group, Fridays For Future, below Part 79(3)(b) of the Data Know-how Act, 2000, invoking part 18 of the Illegal Actions (Prevention) Act on July eight and stated that their web site depicts contents “that are harmful for the peace, tranquillity and sovereignty of India.”
The discover was issued following a criticism by Javadekar in opposition to a number of emails despatched to him with reference to EIA 2020.
Delhi Police later clarified that the July eight discover issued below UAPA was a “clerical error” which was withdrawn and {that a} recent discover had been despatched to the group.
Atmosphere ministry officers within the EIA division stated it should take a very long time for the ministry to look into each remark earlier than taking a name on notifying the draft.
“The time for feedback expires on August 11. However it should take us fairly a while to undergo the feedback and focus on,” stated Geeta Menon, joint secretary, atmosphere ministry. HT sought a response from Javadekar by the Press Data Bureau, however didn’t obtain a reply till late Sunday. Atmosphere secretary RP Gupta additionally didn’t reply to HT’s requires a response on Sunday
On a petition to increase the deadline for public feedback on the draft notification, the Delhi excessive court docket had prolonged the time for submission of suggestions till August 11 from the June 30 date initially set by the ministry. The court docket additionally requested the Centre to publish the notification in all vernacular languages on web sites.
“We now have been knowledgeable that the atmosphere ministry has moved the Supreme Court docket in opposition to Delhi excessive court docket’s order of translating the draft in all languages. We’re a respondent in SC too,” stated Vikrant Tongad, the advocate who had filed the petition to increase the deadline within the Delhi excessive court docket.
Main considerations with draft EIA 2020:
• Publish-facto clearances: Detailed protocol for appraisal of tasks which have began working with out approval. Initiatives which have violated norms may be regularised primarily based on appraisal and requested to furnish a financial institution assure.
• The draft exempts many tasks in search of an enlargement or modernisation with a capability enhance of as much as 50% and even institution of recent tasks from requiring a public session
• Prolonged time for reporting of compliance with atmosphere clearance circumstances
• Reduces public session interval from 30 days to 20 days