1.7 million requests to the Environment Ministry seeking to withdraw draft EIA

PC: Hindustan Times

About five hundred experts from the country have written a letter on Wednesday to the Union Environment ministry with the request to withdraw the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2020. The experts being the scientists, researchers and academics from top institutes including Indian Institutes of Technology requested stating that draft EIA might be a serious threat to the country’s ecological and environmental security.

The Environment Ministry has been sent 1.7 million letters and emails consisting of suggestions, comments and objections to the draft which was released on March 23. The draft was a part of process to overhaul environmental regulations and framework pertaining to infrastructure projects. A lot of environmental groups are opposing it by stating the problem as the contentious clauses. The clauses comprise of pointers about regularization of projects which violate the EIA Notification 2006, by initiating construction by expansion of capacity or prior to the environmental clearance. The draft also inclusion about deducing the period of public hearings, which provide a buffer zone to the affected people and have the consent.

Chhattisgarh CM objects over draft EIA notification

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Bagel has pointed the gaping holes in the draft EIA notification to Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar. Bhupesh Bagel has indicated that the present form of the draft document has neglected the needed sensitivity to accomplish sustainable development goals and ecological preservation.