Environmental impact assessment

Indian Economy glossary

Also called: EIA · Topic: Environment and Sustainable Development · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a study of a proposed project's likely environmental and social impacts, done before the project is approved. It also suggests ways to avoid or reduce the harm, called mitigation measures.

  • It matters because it tries to catch the damage before it happens, while the project can still be changed or stopped.
  • It is also the main legal route through which people affected by a project get a say, through the public hearing.

Explanation

How it works: the four stages

The four stages always run in this order:

  • Screening
  • Does this project need an EIA at all?

  • If yes, which category is it: Category A or Category B?

  • Scoping

  • Which issues must the study cover? Examples are water, forests, air, and the people who may be displaced.

  • This stops the study from ignoring the hard questions.

  • Public consultation

  • Affected people give their views at a public hearing.

  • This is where local knowledge enters the process. For example, villagers may know that a stream dries up if the slope above it is cleared.

  • Appraisal

  • Experts review the EIA study and the public's views.
  • They then recommend yes or no. A yes usually comes with conditions attached.

Who clears what

  • Category A projects have a larger impact. The MoEFCC (Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) clears them.
  • Category B projects have a smaller impact. The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) clears them.

Why it is needed: the hidden-cost problem

  • Counting only jobs and output hides the losses.
  • In Uttara Kannada, a paper mill (10,000 jobs) and a plywood unit (800 jobs) created 10,800 jobs.
  • About 10 lakh people lost the daily needs they got from the forest: fuelwood, fodder and water.

  • 10,00,000 ÷ 10,800 ≈ 93 people harmed for every job created.

  • A proper EIA puts these costs on the table before approval.

  • The paper mill used up all the bamboo in about 12 years.
  • The soil then washed away, and only bare laterite (a hard, red, poor soil) was left.
  • Small streams (rivulets) dried up.
  • An EIA's scoping and public hearing are meant to bring out this kind of chain of damage in advance.

What makes an EIA strong or weak

  • Stronger: an honest study, a wide scope, a real public hearing, and a clearance given before any work starts.
  • Weaker: a hearing that is skipped or rushed, a narrow scope, and post-facto clearance (approval given after a project has already started or broken the rules).

In India

  • Legal basis: the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, through EIA notifications issued in 1994 and 2006.
  • Institutions: MoEFCC clears Category A projects. SEIAA clears Category B projects.
  • Draft EIA 2020: it was criticised for allowing post-facto clearance. This goes against the basic idea of prior assessment.
  • Legal principles EIA puts into practice:
  • Precautionary principle (Rio Principle 15): if harm could be serious or irreversible, lack of full scientific proof is no excuse to delay protective action. In practice, the developer must prove the project is safe.
  • Polluter pays principle (Rio Principle 16): the polluter bears the cost of preventing and cleaning up pollution.
  • The Supreme Court read both principles into Indian law in Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum (1996) and Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action (1996).

  • Under Section 20 of the NGT Act 2010, the National Green Tribunal must apply both principles, along with sustainable development.

  • Why the public hearing matters: Chipko (Reni, 1974), Appiko (Salkani, 1983) and the Narmada Bachao Andolan (against the Sardar Sarovar dam) all came from projects that ignored local people. The public hearing is the formal answer to that complaint.

Don't confuse with

  • Social impact assessment (SIA): this is done under the RFCTLARR Act 2013 (the land acquisition law) and studies how land acquisition will affect people. EIA comes under the EP Act 1986 and covers the whole project's environmental and social impact.
  • Forest clearance: this is approval to divert forest land to non-forest use (mines, roads, dams) under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, the renamed FCA 1980. Forest clearance and environmental clearance are separate approvals under separate laws.
  • Compensatory afforestation / NPV: these are payments made after forest diversion is approved, and the money goes to CAMPA. EIA is an assessment done before approval.
  • Post-facto clearance: approval given after a project has started. It reverses the core logic of EIA and was the main criticism of Draft EIA 2020.

Prelims Hooks

  • The legal basis of EIA is the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, through notifications of 1994 and 2006. It is not the Forest Act or the NGT Act.
  • Category A → MoEFCC and Category B → SEIAA. Exams often test this pair swapped.
  • The stages in order: screening → scoping → public consultation → appraisal.
  • Screening decides whether an EIA is needed and the category. Scoping decides which issues the study covers. Exams often swap these two definitions.
  • Draft EIA 2020 was criticised for allowing post-facto clearance.
  • Precautionary principle = Rio Principle 15, Polluter pays = Rio Principle 16. NGT Act 2010, s.20 requires the NGT to apply both.

Mains Points

  • Growth vs livelihoods: the Uttara Kannada numbers (10,800 jobs against about 10 lakh people losing daily needs) show that job and GDP counts miss the costs borne by forest-dependent people.
  • A strong EIA with a real public hearing, together with SIA under RFCTLARR 2013, brings these costs into the decision before approval.

  • Use Chipko, Appiko and the Narmada Bachao Andolan as examples.

  • Speed vs safeguards: post-facto clearance in Draft EIA 2020 and the 2023 forest amendment both make projects faster. Critics say they weaken the precautionary principle [1].

  • Once a forest is cut or a river is dammed, the damage often cannot be undone.

  • So assessment must come before approval, not after.

  • Legal backbone of sustainable development: EIA turns the Brundtland idea (1987) into a procedure that must be followed.

  • The precautionary and polluter pays principles (Vellore 1996, ICELA 1996, NGT Act s.20) let courts enforce it.
  • Suggested reforms: independent consultants for EIA studies, hearings held in local languages, and monitoring of clearance conditions after approval.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 (PRS Bill Track)prsindia.org · tier 1