Draft EIA 2020 notification upsets activists, environmentalists call Act 'regressive'

On June 30, when the Delhi High Court extended the deadline for the public to express their concerns on the new EIA 2020 draft was when most people even heard about it. The HC in its statement ordered the MoEFFC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) to translate the draft into all 22 official languages before seeking a court judgement, as it is a law that could potentially impact the lives of millions in the country. 

What is the EIA 2020 draft?

Environment Impact Assessment 2020 (EIA 2020) notification is a new draft that the ministry of environment has been working on in hopes to replace the 2006-version of the law. However, ever since it was unveiled, there has been growing dissent and distrust towards the amendment. 

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After the court extended the deadline from June 30 to August 11, allowing public more time to reflect on the new potential bill, the court also ordered the ministry to publish the translated draft in 22 languages within 10 days. However, due to constraints and limitations brought by the COVID pandemic, this draft is yet to be translated by the government. 

Following which, Conservation India, a non-profit organisation working in the domain of nature and wildlife conversation in the country has taken it upon itself to translate the draft document in nine Indian languages, apart from English and Hindi, in which the documents were originally presented. The court's cautioning soon prompted activists and the opposition to lend a voice to the angst against the EIA 2020 draft across the country.

Why is EIA 2020 problematic?

Former Environment Minister and senior Congress leader also joined the protests and sent a letter to the current Union Minister for Environment Prakash Javadekar expressing his concerns.

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EIA 2020 draft offers post-facto clearance for large-scale projects, including industrial projects which could potentially cause severe damage to the environment. In essence, an environmental clearance certificate can be issued to a company setting up shop somewhere before it clears all the vital checks.

An example of this would be, say, national highway expansions, inland waterway and canal projects — constructions that could cause massive disruption in the water flow and land way can be exempted from obtaining an environment clearance certificate that would have originally been given only after assessing its impact before the project began. While it reduces time to start businesses, the project can negatively impact the lives of people in the neighbourhood, as developers have the liberty to choose to obtain a clearance certificate after the project is initiated.

Notably, the Supreme Court in a hearing earlier in 2020, had explicitly expressed its disapproval over the idea of obtaining a green certificate, especially for industrial projects, on a post-facto basis. It observed that allowing such a thing would be detrimental to the environment and the laws that govern it and would damage the environment irreparably.

“Allowing for a post-facto clearance would essentially condone the operation of industrial activities without the grant of an Environmental Clearance (EC). In the absence of an EC, there would be no conditions that would safeguard the environment...In either view of the matter, environment law cannot countenance the notion of an ex post facto clearance. This would be contrary to both the precautionary principle as well as the need for sustainable development,” the Supreme Court order stated.

Weakening process of public consultation:

Industrial projects before given clearance have always been discussed with environmentalists, local communities and stakeholders, who could assess the project's impact, however, the EIA 2020 draft seeks to weaken this process with a post-facto clause. Reportedly, the new draft also suggests a reduction in a number of days within which the public can submit their comments. The number of days was hoped to be lowered from 30 days to 20 days.

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Reporting violations:

Another bone of contention here is the bureaucratic layer added to the new draft. It indicates that activists and public cannot report environmental violations by a company as the onus now falls on the violators themselves. A process of self-reporting to the government about the owners or administration breaking its own laws. This is the possibly the most problematic clause in the draft, say experts.

The Centre, for its part, refutes all such claims and after several representations expressing concerns over the publishing of the notification during COVID-19 lockdown, the government had on May 7 extended the notice period for inviting public opinion till June 30 — the date has not been pushed back to August 11 by the Delhi High Court.

UAPA slapped on environmentalists?

A UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) order was reportedly sent to managers of an environmental website on July 8 for allegedly spamming the email account of Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar over the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification. Soon after, the Delhi Police stated that the order was 'erroneous' and has been withdrawn, adding that it has served notice to them under the IT Act.

How to send suggestions to the government?

Draft EIA Notification 2020 is in the public domain. Any suggestions and public comments can be sent at the official mail provided for the purpose i.e. eia2020-moefcc@gov.in and eia2020-moefcc@gov.in till August 10 as mentioned in the notification.

Here's where you can read the full EIA Notification 2020

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