A home for 8.7 million species, the earth still have about 86% of undiscovered species, is dominated by humans. With the evolution of the Industrial Revolution, the course of environmental degradation increased. Without understanding the fact that the earth is the place of co-existence, humans started deploying nature without paying any heed to other organisms’ habitat. On one hand, there are various factors like the burning of fossil fuels, emission of greenhouse gas has been contributing to the adverse condition of the environment and on another hand, the EIA draft 2020 arise as a future threat to the healthy environment.
Aftermath of Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984, Environment protection Act of India was amended in the year 1986. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the body to safeguard the environment, was first notified in the year 1994 to assess the environmental impact of all the industrial and related constructions by scrutinizing the elements that will pose as a threat to the environment and the habitat. Later in 2006, a modified EIA was amended to make the process transparent. The current EIA draft 2020, by quoting to be transparent actually restricts the interference of public opinion.
The mandatory check on prior environmental clearance (EC) and prior environmental permission or provision (EP) gives a green signal for a project, along with public consultation.
The new EIA draft, have exempted several projects from the prior EC and EP. The exemptions include solar power thermal plant, digging wells, sand extraction and many more. Projects involving public consultations like Elevated roads and flyovers, chemical fertilizers, construction of highways or expressways are totally excluded from the public consultation leaving no scope for public interference in the decisions taken on this.
Apart from exempting many projects from Prior EP and EC and public consultation, the new EIA draft 2020 has also reduced the notice period of public hearing from 30 days to 20 days hereby providing very less time to study the project which can have a long term effect on the environment and other human beings. This draft provides no scope for public reporting on violations and only has ears for Government reporters.
Most of the activists, environmentalists and some politicians are against this EIA draft 2020 stating that it is pro-industrialist and anti-environment and anti-people.
The project proponents will be benefited through the EIA draft 2020 and will pose a serious threat to the healthy environment. Loose strings of this draft alarms the threat awaits the environment and mankind as its purely supporting the business growth, not the healthy co-existing habitant growth.
PC: Newsclick
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