Environment Ministry’s plan to rank states draws ire

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Union Environment Ministry has recently brought out a proposal of ranking States on how quickly they could give environmental clearances to proposed infrastructure projects. 

Many environmentalists have objected to this step and also stated that it contravenes the basic principles of environmental regulation.  

What are State Environmental Impact Assessment Agencies (SEIAA) and What do they do? 

SEIAA consists of State officers and independent experts. Infrastructure projects above a certain size which have a potential to significantly alter the natural environment need to be approved by SEIAA. 

Projects that are even bigger or involve forest (category A) get clearance by Centre.  

Category B, which get clearance by SEIAAs are relatively smaller though they make up the bulk of projects that are presented for approval. They include building and construction, small mining, and small industry projects and are considered to be ‘less polluting.’. 

Companies seeking approval upload the required documents on the portal called Parivesh.  

What are the concerns regarding the recent proposal? 

Environment Ministry has set out seven criteria to rate State Environmental Impact Assessment Agencies (SEIAA). 

They get better ratings if they give faster clearance. Also, if lesser projects prompted a site visit by committee members, the SEIAA will get better ratings. 

This has been termed by some organisations working in environment sector as being “violative” of the Environment (Protection) Act. According to them it gives greater weightage to less scrutiny and faster clearance while the main task of SEIAA is to undertake a ‘detailed scrutiny’. 

However, ministry officials have clarified that the ranking criteria was not intended to accelerate the speed with which clearances were accorded. It is to encourage the SEIAA to adhere to timelines already specified by the provisions of the Act. 

What should be the way forward? 

Even the EoDB rankings are not the sole determinants of actual investment flows. Tamil Nadu ranks lower than both UP and Bengal. But the state attracts some very big projects. For example-Ola’s e-scooter plant in Krishnagi. 

Although government should try to balance economic and environmental interests but SEIAAs should only strive to safeguard the environment.  

Source- This post is based on the article “Environment Ministry’s plan to rank states draws ire” published in The Hindu and “Speed isn’t the point: Environmental ranking of states based on how swiftly they clear projects is not desirable” published in Times of India on 21st Jan 2022.