Daily Answer Writing Challenge-2nd August

Q1. Discuss how far Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) has been beneficial to both our environment and society. (250 words, 15 Marks) 

Answer: 

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a tool used to determine the environmental, social, and  economic implications of a project before making a decision. It seeks to anticipate environmental  effects early in the project planning and design process, identify strategies for minimising negative  effects, adapt projects to the local environment, and give predictions and options to decision makers. 

Benefits of EIA for the environment as well as society 

• EIA connects the environment and development for ecologically safe and sustainable  development. 
• EIA is a cost-effective way to eliminate or reduce the negative effects of development initiatives.
• EIA allows decision-makers to assess the environmental impact of development activities long  before the project is completed. 
• EIA emphasises the incorporation of mitigation techniques into the development plan.
• EIA ensures the development plan is environmentally responsible and doesn’t go beyond what  the ecosystem can absorb and regenerate. 
• It makes Civil Society more aware of the impact of a project before its inception.
• Helps in ensuring a balance between development and the environment
• It Helps in citizen participation in assessing impact of an project. 
• Alternative options available help to reduce land alienation of tribals. 

Shortcomings of EIA 

• Applicability: Several projects with major environmental implications are excluded from  notification, either because they are not mentioned in Schedule I or because their investments  are less than what is specified in the notification. 
• Lack of experts: It has been discovered that the team formed to undertake EIA investigations lacks  competence in various sectors, including environmentalists, animal experts, anthropologists,  and social scientists. 
• Public hearing: Public views are not considered at an early stage, frequently resulting in disputes  at a later stage of project clearance. 
• Quality of EIA: One of the most serious concerns about the environmental clearance process  is the quality of the EIA reports that are produced. 
• Lack of Credibility: There have been numerous incidents of fake EIA studies in which incorrect  data was used, the same facts were used for two completely different locations, and so on.
• Recent EIA Notification, 2020 dilutes the EIA and allows more projects for post facto compliance  and without Public reporting. 

Way forward 

• Applicability: Without exception, all initiatives that have the potential to significantly affect  ecosystems must go through the environmental clearance process. 
• Public hearing: Public hearings should be required for all previously exempt categories of  projects with environmental implications. 
• The emphasis of EIA should shift from resource consumption and exploitation to resource  conservation.
• Grant of clearance: The notification must clarify explicitly that the provision for site clearance  does not imply that the impact Assessment agency is obligated to grant full environmental  clearance. 
• Expert committees: The current executive committees should be supplemented by experts  from diverse stakeholder groups who are well-known in environmental and other related  sectors. 
• Citizens should be able to approach the authorities to remedy all EIA notification violations and  non-compliance issues. 
• Capacity building: NGOs, civil society organisations, and local communities must strengthen  their capacity to use EIA notifications to make better project decisions. 

EIA is fundamentally a valuable component of good environmental management, and the  government must recognise that decreasing the term for public review dilutes the EIA process.