The Legal Provisions of Environmental Impact Assessment in India

In India, EIA was made mandatory in 1994, under the Environmental Protection Act of 1986 with the following four objectives:

1. Predict environmental impact of projects;

2. Find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts;

3. Shape the projects to suit local environment; and

4. Present the predictions and options to the decision-makers.

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Till 1994, EIA clearance was the administrative requirement for big projects undertaken by the Government or public sector undertakings. The Notification mandates a public hearing, with further review by a committee of experts in certain cases. According to Schedule II of the notification, the EIA is expected to cover at least the following matters:

1. Description of the proposed activities;

2. Description of the base environmental and climatic conditions and potential affected environment including specific information necessary to identify and assess the environmental effect of the proposed activities;

3. Analysis of the land use and land use change, waste generation, water consumption (and the existing balance), power consumption etc. alongwith the social and health impacts (in terms of number of people displayed etc.);

4. Description of the practical activities as appropriate;

5. An assessment of the likely or potential environmental impacts of the proposed activity (like air pollution, noise generation) and the alternatives, including the direct or indirect, cumulative, short-term and long-term effects;

6. A risk assessment report and disaster management plan to mitigate adverse environmental impacts of proposed activity and assessment of those measures;

7. An indication of the likely area to be affected by the proposed activity or its alternatives; and

8. A detailed environmental feasibility report of all the information provided.