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Activists see red over new green norms [DNA : Daily News & Analysis (India)](DNA : Daily News & Analysis (India) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) New Delhi: Since coming into power, the NDA government has been diligently working to simplify and ease green clearance norms and in its latest move the Union ministry of environment and forests is trying to specify building, construction and township projects that could be considered for prior environmental clearance. Its draft notification is also specifying the projects that would not require prior environmental clearance and that is where environmentalists and activists, however, allege that move is a ploy to dilute environmental laws while stating that they would do everything to oppose it. What's environment ministry's plan? The September 2006 EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) notification clarifies rules and procedures to be adopted for seeking environmental clearance from either the environment ministry of the central government or State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) prior to companies starting work on various kind of projects including highways, mining and others. MoEF is proposing to amend the sections of EIA notification which deals regarding building projects, construction projects and townships and area development projects If approved, what will it result in? At present the notification in the list of projects or activities that require prior environmental nod in case of building and construction activities only mentions that projects that involve built up area of over 20,000 sq mts and less than 150,000 sq mts, townships and area developmental projects covering an area greater than 50 ha or built up area greater than 150,000 sq mts require environmental nod. In the new draft notification published on September 11 , MoEF is specifying the building and construction projects that would require prior environmental clearance. It proposes that from now on projects like "residential buildings, commercial buildings, hotels, hospitals, hostels, office blocks and information technology / software development units/parks" would be covered under this section. And that "General Conditions" will not be applicable to them. Why is environment ministry doing it? "Till now the kind of projects in the building a category were not mentioned in the notification which used to delay a lot of projects as it used to depend on interpretation of law by experts in the panels dealing with clearances whether at central government level or state level. It used to delay in lot of projects but this amendment would solve all such issues and smoothen the environmental clearance work while bringing much needed clarity," MOEF official told dna. Why are activists against it? "While we welcome the move to bring clarity but in its garb the environmental law is definitely being diluted. But a closer scrutiny of the draft notification reveals that host of other building and construction activities have now been kept out of it. Grey areas in notification should have been improved but this move is regressive and that is why we are opposed to it," environmentalist Manoj Misra told dna. Credit:Mayank Aggarwal (c) 2014 @ 2014 DILIGENT MEDIA CORPORATION LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED |