GREEN OVERSIGHT

ACTIVISTS CALL IT A SELLOUT, THE GOVERNMENT CLAIMS IT HAS TIGHTENED NORMS. THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NEW ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) DRAFT

- KAUSHIK DEKA

Ever since it was made public on March 23, the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2020, by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has invited severe criticism from environmentalists, activists and legal professionals. They allege that the central government is diluting the green clearance norms. Issued under Section 3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, the EIA notification prescribes procedures to regulate activities that impact our environment. India notified its first EIA norms in 1994, which were replaced in 2006. After 14 years, the Union government now wants to amend the norms to make the process “more transparent and expedient”.