Submission of the objections on the draft Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2020:

- Hello, tomorrow is a deadline for the submission of the objections on the draft Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2020. Below is a draft email that can be sent to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to oppose the amendment.

Link to the draft EIA Notification 2020 - http://environmentclearance.nic.in/writereaddata/Draft_EIA_2020.pdf

The email has to be sent to - eia2020-moefcc@gov.in

Draft Email that can be used with any changes to it as required -

29th June 2020

The Secretary,

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Indira Paryavaran Bhawan

Jor Bagh Road, Aliganj

New Delhi-110003

Subject - Objections and comments on the draft Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2020

Respected Sir,

On March 23, 2020, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change issued a draft notification in order to replace the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. The draft was open for public inputs for a period of two months. This meant that the government expected the people to comment on the draft law at a time when the entire nation was facing a health emergency and economic crisis due to coronavirus which led to a global pandemic. 29th

Only after an uproar and submissions from several organisations and policy researchers the period for submitting the comment was extended to June 30. Even today, some parts of the country are still under partial or full lockdown, the nation still encounters a health crisis and a large number of Indians are struggling to ensure their economic, livelihood and food security.

Majority of the community who will be alienated from a fair chance to object or comment on the draft are those who are directly affected by the projects like the poor, citizens dwelling in the rural areas and the tribals. These are those who come from the poorest rung of the society and are struggling to make their ends meet amid this pandemic. During these times, issuing a notification cannot allow a genuine public engagement.

*We demand that this notification be withdrawn with immediate effect.*

Today there is an urgent need to take necessary steps towards conserving the environment and not diluting the rules and laws that protect the environment instead. This notification just ensures that all the possible laws that safeguard the environment are diluted giving a free hand to the companies and promotes disruptive development. This will lead to severe impacts on the environment, the communities dependent on the natural resources and take away India’s rich forests, ecology, biodiversity.

The Environment Ministry and the Government should make all the necessary efforts to give the citizens good laws. This will also ensure that the Fundamental Right to Life and Liberty bestowed upon all citizens by the Constitution of India in its Article 21. The Government should also make necessary laws staying within the purview of the Directive Principle of the Constitution under Article 48 A.

This draft notification issued by the Ministry takes away the scope of public participation for the project affected communities. This notification also allows a number of industries to bypass the public hearing stage. Many projects are brought in vulnerable areas, where historically oppressed people live. Our constitution grants them protections to address the historical injustices they have faced. However, these protections have been under attack in the name of ‘national importance’ and ‘public interest’.

The EIA reports to this date are not even translated entirely to regional languages, and are written in a highly technical and intimidating language not understood by all and definitely not understood by the local project affected communities. This only excludes meaningful participation and eliminates any possibility of the socio-political context to weigh in the decision-making on projects.

The notification also states that whether the industry will require a public hearing or not will be decided by the Ministry and it further states that in case a public consultation is further required after inviting the written submissions through any other mode, that will also be decided by the Ministry. To upheld the democratic process and space that the EIA notification originally provided to the people this draft notification fails to provide the same. The draft notification has only made the public participation more difficult by giving a window of just 20 days for raising written objections and prior to any public hearing that would be organized, if at all.

The draft notification has also diluted the process of EIA study which is the crux and the most important document for any project for the process of prior Environment Clearance. It is this study based on which the project would be appraised and granted or rejected clearance.

At this stage where the conservation of environment is of utmost importance for the citizens of india, this dilution just ensures that EIA report and the appraisal of the companies by the Ministry becomes a process on paper without it serving its actual purpose of ensuring the protection of environment and the safeguard of the communities that would be significantly affected by the rampant, unplanned based on improper EIA Reports.

In India, each season brings vivid biodiversity to life with migratory birds and seasonal flora and fauna. The biodiversity of our country is different for every region. Conducting only one season study for the EIA study would ensure that we will never have an entire/ complete study of the region and the project will be assessed based on incomplete studies and information.

The EIA notification 1994 and 2006 were introduced for the basic purpose of all the projects obtaining a PRIOR ENVIRONMENT CLEARANCE i.e. permission/ clearance BEFORE the project is executed. By allowing post facto environment clearance to the projects that have blatantly and voluntarily violated the laws of the country against the payment of some money, only encourages further violation of the Country’s laws by these companies. The government should refrain from allowing companies violate the laws and rules of the Country.

Further, this draft notification only allows more free hand to the companies, provides less monitoring and regulation. The government through this draft rely more and more upon the companies self declaring the violation they have undertaken. There is no provision or formal mechanisms are provided to the people to raise the issues of violation and assurance that the government would take cognisance of the same.

In view of some major concerns pertaining to the draft notifications stated above, the notification has several other concerns which are contradictory to the objective of the notification which was to safeguard the environment and protect the communities. In view of the above, we request the Government and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to withdraw the draft notification.

We request the Ministry to kindly acknowledge the receipt of this email with a detailed response on whether the concerns raised are being considered and addressed by the Ministry before the final decision on the draft would be made.

Yours Sincerely

Name -

Designation (if any) -

Email address for contact

_---------end of original message--------

Check the submission report in Hindustan Times:

Note:

Source: The message is received through WhatsApp message. We CLF organization who own this blog, do not guarantee the authenticity of data, please verify from original source.

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