Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday sent in his strong objections to the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2020 to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and said the proposed changes display a mindset that “environmental regulations are unnecessary regulatory burden”.
The former Environment Minister, who now heads the Parliamentary Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said the notification ignores the health and welfare aspect of the people.
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The notification is right now open to public comments before the government gives its final seal of approval.
The three As
“These changes are not based on the three As — audits, assessments and analyses. The changes are not based on any research. They reflect a mindset that sees environmental regulation as an unnecessary regulatory burden and not as an essential obligation to be met for the health and welfare of our people and for ensuring development that is sustainable,” Mr. Ramesh said in the letter which he posted on his twitter handle.
Mr. Ramesh opposed it on five grounds and marked a copy to Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu.
“It allows for post facto approvals which go against the very principle of assessment and public participation prior to environment clearance and has provisions that will routinely legitimise illegality. It reduces public participation in all steps of the environment clearance process by lessening the notice period for public hearings and doing away with them for a large category of projects.”
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Apart from doing away with environmental impact assessment, the Congress leader noted that the proses changes would encourage “land grab” in many cases of expansion.
Another nail in the coffin
“It gives the Union government full powers to appoint State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority. This is yet another nail in the coffin of cooperative federalism,” he said.
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“The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha very recently in his characteristic style said Nature+Culture=Future. I am marking a copy of the letter to him as well to let him know how the equation he has so rightly and nicely formulated is being thrown out of the window....” Mr. Ramesh said.
