The laws of environment are to be maintained by the laws for environment! As a part of it, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of any project is of utmost importance. Environmental factors have a vital role in decision-making approach of the governments wherever environmental issues are concerned. At the same time, EIA has been made mandatory for obtaining environmental clearances from the concerned authorities. But what if such an exercise is taken for granted?
A few days back, the Indian newspapers created a storm by reporting that Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of two power projects at different locations and on two different rivers, submitted to the government, are exactly the same. The EIA report for the Murdeshwar Power Corporation Ltd. was reproduced ad verbatim from an impact report of the proposed Tattihalla Augmentation Scheme, only replacing the name of the project.
Is it the single case of this nature? Or a prominent case of fraud, unable to be kept out of sight! Does it throw some light on how lightly the issue of Environmental protection is taken?
In a country like India, where corruption and inefficiency of the system is at its peak, EIAs are more of a ritual rather than an in-depth assessment of pros and cons of a project. They rarely provide a true picture of the situation prevailing in the area. In most of the cases, the concerned authorities lack the ‘dil’ (hearty desire) and the ‘will’ to find out the truth. If it exists at all, they may still be deprived of the quality information products and tools to check the fraudulent practice in many cases. To make the things worse, the non-availability of the reports submitted to the government for clearance gives hardly any chance for public scrutiny of the information submitted.
The Environment. The Impact. The Assessment. Let’s save them.
… Mission Impossible?
