Shankar IAS Summary: Environmental Impact Assessment - 2 | Famous Books for UPSC Exam (Summary & Tests) PDF Download

Introduction

Environmental protection and sustainable development are the fundamental principles that guide policies and procedures regulating industrial and other developmental activities in India.

The Need for EIA

• Every human-made activity affects the environment, most often causing adverse effects rather than benefits.
• Contemporary human development depends on such activities for essential needs such as food and security.

• It is therefore essential to align developmental activities with environmental concerns so that growth does not irreparably harm environmental systems.
• Ensuring the sustainability of development options under consideration is highly desirable.
• To achieve sustainability, environmental consequences must be identified and characterised at an early stage of the project cycle.
• These consequences should be incorporated into project design to balance development and environmental well-being.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a tool for planners to align proposed development activities with environmental considerations by assessing likely impacts and suggesting mitigation.
• EIA integrates environmental considerations from the initiation phase, informing feasibility reports and project design.
• By incorporating environmental concerns and mitigation measures during project development, EIA plays a preventive role that can avoid later liabilities or costly alterations.

• The primary objective of EIA is to anticipate and address potential environmental issues during planning and design stages.
• An EIA, together with an Environment Management Plan (EMP), assists planners and government authorities in decision-making by identifying key impacts and formulating mitigation and monitoring measures.
• EIA is widely recognised as an integral component of sound decision-making and an accepted planning tool.
• The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MOE&F) has enacted policy initiatives and legislation to prevent indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources and to integrate environmental concerns in developmental projects.
• The Notification on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of developmental projects in 1994, issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, was an important step in institutionalising EIA.

Indian Policies Requiring EIA

• EIA practice in India began in 1976-77 when the Planning Commission asked the Department of Science and Technology to evaluate river-valley projects for environmental considerations.
• Initially, assessment covered projects requiring approval from the Public Investment Board, but these were administrative decisions without comprehensive legislative backing.
• In 1986, the Government of India enacted the Environment (Protection) Act to provide a statutory basis for environmental protection measures and to enable rules and notifications, including those on EIA.

• Following the Act, the Government issued a series of notifications addressing specific geographic areas and activities, extending measures beyond a general EIA regime.
• These notifications included prohibitions or restrictions on industries in specified belts, protection for ecologically sensitive regions, and the establishment of Coastal Regulation Zones with controls on activities along coastal stretches.
• Examples of area-specific measures include restrictions in parts of Maharashtra (Raigad district and Dahanu taluka), the Doon Valley, protected stretches of the coast, specified areas in the Aravalli Range, and measures in north-western Numaligarh, Assam.
• These measures aimed to regulate industrial and other activities that could cause pollution, congestion, or ecological damage, forming a framework for environmental protection in diverse regions.

The EIA Cycle and Procedures

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in India follows a sequence of stages that together identify, predict, evaluate and mitigate environmental impacts. The main stages are:

Screening

• The screening process determines whether a project requires environmental clearance under statutory notifications.
• Screening criteria typically consider the scale of investment, the type of development, and the location of the proposed project.
• A project requires statutory environmental clearance only if it falls within the provisions of the applicable EIA notification(s) or other statutory notifications.

Scoping

• Scoping defines the terms of reference for the EIA study: which environmental components must be studied, the spatial and temporal boundaries, methods to be used, and key issues to address.
• Scoping is prepared by the consultant in consultation with the project proponent, and may be guided by the Impact Assessment Agency or regulatory authority.
• The Ministry has issued sector-wise guidelines (comprehensive terms of reference) outlining significant issues to be addressed in EIA studies for different project types.
• Quantifiable impacts are assessed by magnitude, prevalence, frequency and duration; non-quantifiable impacts (such as aesthetic or recreational values) are evaluated using socio-economic criteria.
• Once areas with potentially significant impacts are identified, baseline status should be monitored and predictions made about changes from construction and operation of the project.

Baseline Data

Baseline data characterises the existing environmental conditions of the defined study area. It provides the reference against which project impacts are predicted and assessed.

• Baseline data should be collected as site-specific primary data for the identified parameters, with secondary data used to supplement where available.
• Typical baseline parameters include air quality, noise levels, water quantity and quality, soil characteristics, land use, flora and fauna, socioeconomic conditions, and cultural heritage.

Impact Prediction

Impact prediction maps the environmental consequences of significant project aspects and of alternatives. Prediction is inherently uncertain; hence, methods should reduce uncertainty and present ranges, assumptions and limitations clearly.

Project impacts should be assessed across environmental categories with attention to cause-effect linkages, spatial extent, duration, reversibility and significance.

Categories of Impact and Typical Parameters

• Air: Changes in ambient concentrations and ground-level pollutant levels from total emissions (point, line and area sources); effects on soils, materials, vegetation and human health.
• Noise: Changes in ambient noise levels from equipment and vehicle movement; effects on fauna and human health.
• Water: Availability to competing users; changes in quality; sediment transport; ingress of saline water in coastal or groundwater systems.
• Land: Changes in land use and drainage patterns; deterioration of land quality due to waste disposal; shoreline or riverbank changes and stability issues.
• Biological: Deforestation or tree-cutting; shrinkage of animal habitat; impacts on flora and fauna (including aquatic species) from contaminants; effects on rare, endangered or endemic species and on migratory routes.

Impact on Breeding and Nesting Grounds

Project activities may affect breeding and nesting grounds of wildlife, which requires focused assessment of ecological sensitivity and seasonal patterns.

• Socio-economic impacts: Effects on local communities, including demographic changes resulting from project influx or displacement.
• Impact on economic status: Effects on livelihoods, human health and increased traffic and associated hazards.

Assessment of Alternatives, Mitigation Measures and EIA Report

• Identify and compare alternatives for project location and process technologies, including the no-project option. Rank alternatives and select the most environmentally favourable option.
• Prepare a mitigation plan for the selected option, supported by an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) that details mitigation measures, monitoring arrangements and institutional responsibilities.
• In the EIA report, present clear information on different environmental scenarios: without the project, with the project, and with project alternatives. Transparently state uncertainties associated with predictions and assumptions made.

Public Hearing

Legal provisions require notification and engagement of the public in the evaluation of a proposed development after completion of the EIA report.

Anyone likely to be affected by the project has the right to obtain the Executive Summary of the EIA. Potential stakeholders include:

• Genuine local residents;
• Local associations;
• Environmental groups active in the area;
• Any other person at the project site or sites of displacement.

Stakeholders may present oral or written suggestions to the relevant authority (for example, the State Pollution Control Board), enabling their concerns to be considered in decision making.

Environment Management Plan (EMP)

The Environment Management Plan should set out practical arrangements to implement mitigation and monitoring. It typically includes:

• Delineation of mitigation and compensation measures for all identified significant impacts.
• Identification of any residual (unmitigated) impacts and measures to manage them.
• Physical planning for implementation, including work programmes, schedules and locations for mitigation and compensation systems.
• Financial planning with budgetary estimates and allocation of funds within the project budget for implementing mitigation measures.
• Institutional arrangements specifying roles and responsibilities for implementation, monitoring and reporting.
• Monitoring protocols detailing parameters, frequency, methods, thresholds and corrective actions.

Decision Making

• Decision making involves consultation between the project proponent (often assisted by a consultant) and the impact assessment authority (assisted by expert committees if necessary).
• Environmental clearance decisions are based on evaluation of the EIA report, the EMP, public hearing outcomes and compliance with statutory requirements.

Monitoring the Clearance Conditions

• Monitoring should be carried out during both the construction and operation phases to ensure compliance with commitments and to verify the accuracy of predictions made in the EIA.
• If actual impacts exceed predicted levels, corrective actions must be implemented. Monitoring enables regulatory agencies to review the validity of predictions and conditions attached to environmental clearance.

Salient Features of the 2006 Amendment

The 2006 amendment decentralised environmental clearance processes by creating two broad categories of projects: Category A and Category B.

• Category A projects are appraised at the national level by the Impact Assessment Agency (IAA) and the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC).

• Category B projects are appraised at the state level by the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC).

Following the 2006 amendment, the EIA cycle typically involves four stages:

1. Screening
2. Scoping
3. Public hearing
4. Appraisal

Key points regarding categories:

• Category A projects require mandatory environmental clearance and do not undergo screening at the state level.
• Category B projects undergo screening and are further classified into projects that mandatorily require EIA and those that do not require EIA.
• Category A and Category B (mandatory EIA) projects follow the complete EIA process; Category B projects that do not require EIA are excluded from the full EIA process.

Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2020

The EIA Notification 2020, issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), replaced the 2006 notification. Key provisions and changes include:

• Reduction of the public hearing notice period from 30 to 20 days.
• Exemption of certain project classifications (A, B1, B2) from public scrutiny in specific cases.
• Change in post-clearance compliance reporting from semi-annual to annual submissions.
• Requirement that project proponents prepare the EIA report; this removed the specific requirement for third-party consultants to prepare the report in earlier practice, with implications for independence and quality control.
• Omission of a formal public mechanism to report violations and non-compliance by the public in certain cases.
• Introduction of provisions for post-facto clearance, allowing projects operating without prior environmental clearance to apply retrospectively for clearance.
• Imposition of penalties on firms found violating environmental conditions, along with a defined procedure for compliance and remediation.

Concluding Remarks

EIA is a systematic process that informs planners, project proponents and regulatory authorities about likely environmental consequences, enabling informed decision-making and promoting sustainable development. A robust EIA process comprises accurate baseline study, careful prediction and evaluation of impacts, transparent public participation, clear mitigation and management plans, and effective monitoring to ensure compliance and adaptive management.