Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Governance

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

What it is: a process to predict and evaluate the environmental and social impacts of a proposed project before it is approved, so that harmful projects are rejected or redesigned and mitigation measures are built in.

History in India:

• It began with river valley projects (1978–79).
• It became mandatory through the EIA Notification 1994, issued under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.
• The current framework is the EIA Notification 2006, which has been amended many times.

Categories:

• Category A: large projects, appraised at the Centre by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the MoEFCC.
• Category B: smaller projects, appraised at the state level by the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) and State EIA Authority (SEIAA).
• B1 projects need an EIA report.
• B2 projects are exempt from an EIA report.

The process:

1. Screening: does the project need an EIA?
2. Scoping: Terms of Reference for the study.
3. EIA report preparation, by accredited consultants.
4. Public consultation, including a public hearing for affected people.
5. Appraisal by the expert committee.
6. Decision: environmental clearance (EC), with conditions.
7. Post-clearance monitoring through compliance reports.

Criticisms and the 2020 draft

Weaknesses in practice:

• EIA reports are paid for by the project proponent, which creates a conflict of interest; there have been cases of copy-paste and errors;
• public hearings are poorly publicised, held in English or far from affected people, or disrupted;
• cumulative impacts of many projects in one area are ignored;
• post-clearance monitoring is weak;
• ex-post facto clearances for projects already started.

The draft EIA Notification 2020 proposed:

• post-facto clearance;
• shorter public consultation (from 30 to 20 days);
• more exemptions (including for "strategic" projects without public disclosure);
• less frequent compliance reporting.

It drew over 20 lakh public comments and was not finalised.

The Supreme Court:

• in *Vanashakti* (May 2025), it held that ex-post facto environmental clearances are illegal, striking down a 2017 notification and a 2021 office memorandum;
• a review in late 2025 recalled that judgment, and the issue was referred for reconsideration. Check the current status.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA): experts recommend SEA, which assesses policies, plans and programmes, such as a river basin's hydropower plan, rather than individual projects.

Coastal regulation

Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification: issued under the EPA in 1991, 2011 and 2019. CRZ 2019 (based on the Shailesh Nayak Committee):

• CRZ-I: ecologically sensitive areas such as mangroves and coral reefs;
• CRZ-II: developed urban areas;
• CRZ-III: rural areas. The no development zone was reduced to 50 m from the high tide line in densely populated rural areas (from 200 m);
• CRZ-IV: water areas;
• it allows tourism facilities and floor area ratio relaxations.

Critics say CRZ 2019 diluted protection for coasts and fishers.

Institutions of environmental governance

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC): the nodal ministry. "Climate change" was added to its name in 2014.

Pollution control boards:

• the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB, 1974), a statutory body under the Water Act;
• State Pollution Control Boards issue consent to establish and consent to operate.

Critics: these bodies are understaffed, lack independence, and impose low penalties.

National Green Tribunal (NGT):

• set up under the NGT Act 2010, following the Rio Declaration principle of access to remedies and the Supreme Court's suggestions;
• principal bench in New Delhi, with zonal benches at Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai;
• has a judicial member and expert members;
• must try to dispose of cases within six months;
• applies the polluter pays, precautionary and sustainable development principles;
• appeals go to the Supreme Court.

Important orders:

• the Art of Living Yamuna floodplain fine (2016);
• Volkswagen emissions;
• old diesel vehicles in Delhi;
• environmental compensation against states for solid and liquid waste failures (2022–23, over ₹79,000 crore across states).

Concerns: vacancies; the 2021 tribunal reforms (Tribunals Reforms Act) on members' tenure; and the debate on its suo motu powers. The Supreme Court in 2021 upheld that the NGT can take suo motu cognisance.

Key legal principles

• Polluter pays principle: the polluter bears the cost of the damage (*Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action* (1996), Bichhri).
• Precautionary principle: lack of scientific certainty is no reason to delay preventive action (*Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum* (1996)).
• Public trust doctrine: the state holds natural resources in trust for the public (*M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath* (1997), Span Motels on the Beas).
• Absolute liability: for hazardous industries, with no exceptions (*M.C. Mehta* (1987), the oleum gas leak). It is stricter than strict liability (*Rylands v. Fletcher*).
• Inter-generational equity and sustainable development.

Bhopal gas tragedy (December 1984): a methyl isocyanate (MIC) leak from Union Carbide's plant killed thousands. It led to:

• the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, an umbrella law that empowers the Centre to make rules and standards;
• the Public Liability Insurance Act 1991.

Global environmental governance

• Stockholm Conference (1972), which created UNEP, headquartered in Nairobi.
• Montreal Protocol (1987) on ozone-depleting substances, the most successful environmental treaty. The Kigali Amendment (2016) phases down HFCs; India's freeze year is 2028.
• Rio Earth Summit (1992): Agenda 21, the UNFCCC, the CBD, the UNCCD (1994), and the Rio Principles, including common but differentiated responsibilities.
• Stockholm Convention (2001) on persistent organic pollutants.
• Minamata Convention (2013) on mercury.
• The Rotterdam Convention (1998) on prior informed consent for hazardous chemicals.

Analysis

India's environmental law is strong on paper but weak in enforcement. Courts have often stepped in through PILs. Reforms needed:

• independent EIA preparation, for example through a national accreditation body paid from a pool;
• cumulative and strategic assessment;
• real public participation in local languages;
• strengthened pollution boards with technical staff;
• transparency through real-time monitoring data;
• a balance between ease of doing business and environmental protection.

Common prelims traps

• The EPA 1986 followed Bhopal; EIA was made mandatory in 1994.
• NGT appeals go to the Supreme Court, not to a High Court.
• Absolute liability came from the oleum gas leak case, not Bhopal.
• The Kigali Amendment phases down HFCs (not CFCs).

Quick self-test

1. *Who appraises Category A projects?* The Expert Appraisal Committee at the Centre.
2. *What is the public trust doctrine?* The state holds natural resources as a trustee for the public.
3. *Why is the Montreal Protocol considered successful?* Near-universal participation and the phase-out of most ozone-depleting substances.

Practice: Mains question

*"Environmental Impact Assessment in India has become a procedural formality." Critically examine, and suggest reforms. (250 words)*

Key terms

• Environmental clearance: approval for a project after appraisal of its environmental impact.
• Consent to establish / operate: permissions from State Pollution Control Boards before setting up and running an industry.
• Ex-post facto clearance: approval granted after a project has begun without the required clearance.
• Cumulative impact assessment: evaluation of the combined effects of multiple projects in a region.