The imperative of impact assessment

The imperative of impact assessment

Article:

1. Writer has talked about the PLIA (Policy and Legislation Impact Assessment) framework in India.

Important Analysis:

2. There is a concern over law making process in India because it does not consider unanticipated outcomes and its impact.
3. Law making process in India has been seen criticized because it has a little consciousness of how the new law will impact either directly or indirectly, economy, ecology, development and society.
4. Currently India have drafted a PLIA (Policy and Legislation Impact Assessment) framework that is being discussed and debated to enhance the transparency and efficiency in its implementation.
5. What are the concern over the Lawmaking process in India?

• They are often passed with inadequate scrutiny and assessment
• Rush to offer quick-fix solutions to complex problems without assessing long term impact
• As a result, both lawmakers and citizens are frequently blindsided by the unanticipated impact
• The laws often run aground on issues of implementation.

6. According to Author lack of awareness about the laws and policy enacted makes it difficult to achieve holistic development:
7. Causes of lack of awareness in law making process:

• Nature of political economy in India. (Political economy is the study of production and trade and their relations with law, custom and government; and with the distribution of national income and wealth)
• Lack of a formal assessment structure for these laws and rules.
• Increasing complexity of law-making in today’s diverse and interconnected societies.
• As a result, Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (BDA) – the legal framework that aims to protect our biological resources, however, the matter of the fact is that the awareness of the BDA’s provisions is extremely limited among the judiciary and the executive and the provisions of the act are so contradictory that conservation, use and development action have almost come to a standstill.

8. Objectives of Policy and Legislation Impact Assessment

• It should be Feasible, operationally viable, and socially acceptable.
• Such a framework should promote transparent and democratic law-making in the country
• Allow citizens to understand and debate trade-offs created by such laws even before they are formalized.

9. Suggestion for a policy and legislative impact assessment (PLIA) framework for India

• Framework would identify the policy problem, its root cause and the need for action
• It should have a provision for cost and benefits analysis to ensure the sustainable and inclusive development — for example, laws have persistently sought to undervalue ecosystem services as well as indigenous peoples’ rights.
• Benchmark it against available alternatives.
• Conduct stakeholder meetings and identify potential impact.
• Pre-empt possible conflicts by identifying and planning for the mitigation of any and all negative effects of taking such an action
• Currently we have drafted a PLIA (Policy and Legislation Impact Assessment) framework that is being discussed and debated.

10. International Practice:

• Countries like Kenya and Finland have mechanisms in place for the assessment of regulatory and legislative proposals as an essential part of their legislative process.

11. The need of the hour is, the policy and legislation impact assessment needs to be conducted thoroughly that focuses on policy and legal frameworks before they are passed.