One major amendment, among others, is that the Center will now exercise the power to assess and grant environmental clearance (EC) to national defense or security projects, in place of the state.
“All projects of category “B”, relating to national defense or of strategic or security importance or those notified by the central government due to requirements such as pandemics, natural disasters or to promote activities environmentally friendly under national programs or schemes or missions or such projects which are unduly delayed beyond the stipulated schedule as set forth in the
In accordance with the original EIA notification of 2006, the
Stating that the SEIAAs have gained substantial experience over the past 15 years in the CE assessment process and that the state-level process has also been fully brought online through the PARIVESH portal for efficient and effective disposal transparency of the EC proposals, the
But Category B projects being those related to defense or strategic importance have a “significant element of security implication” and yet are assessed at the state level, the
Citing relevant clauses, it also waived the “public interest” notification requirement when implementing changes in the September 14, 2006 EIA Notification.
Earlier on April 14, the Ministry of Environment amended the EIA notification to extend the validity of CEs to hydroelectric and nuclear projects, among others. Changes include revising the CE validity for hydroelectric projects – also known as river valley projects – to 13 years (plus two years after consulting the expert assessment committee), 15 years for nuclear projects; 30 years for mining projects, extendable for 20 years and 10 years for other projects, such as cantons.
Earlier, on April 12, the ministry published a series of proposals to amend the same EIA notification requesting EC exemption for several projects, including defence-related projects/border areas, those up to 25 MW of thermal power plants based on biomass or the expansion of the airport terminal.
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