The Indian Himalayan Region needs its own EIA

• Recently, we saw Teesta dam breach in Sikkim, floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh.
• These incidents are a stark reminder of the havoc our development model is wreaking on our environment and ecology especially in the mountains.
• Therefore, evaluating the environmental impact is essential when considering the merit of any significant human endeavour.

Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)

• Defined by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as a tool to identify the environmental, social, and economic impacts of a project before it is implemented.
• It compares various alternatives for the proposed project, predicts and analyses all possible environmental repercussions in various scenarios.
• It also helps decide appropriate mitigation strategies.
• However, it would deliver results only if it is designed to seek the most appropriate, relevant and reliable information regarding the project.
• Hence, the baseline data on the basis of which future likely impacts are being predicted are very crucial.

History of EIA in India

• In 1994, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) promulgated the first EIA notification under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 (EPA).
• This notification made Environmental Clearance (EC) mandatory for
  • setting up some specified new projects
  • expansion or modernisation of some specific activities
• The hallmark of the EIA 2006 notification was the decentralisation of the process of EC.
  • State governments were also given powers to issue EC in certain cases.
• It lays down the procedure and the institutional set-up to give EC for the projects that need such clearance as per this notification.
• Only projects enumerated in the schedule attached to the notification require prior EC or EIA.
• It has categorised projects under various heads such as mining, extraction of natural resources and power generation and physical infrastructure.

The case of the Himalayas

• Unfortunately, the threshold limits beyond which EIA is warranted for all the projects is the same across India.
• Despite the awareness of the special needs, the region’s vulnerabilities and fragility have not been considered separately.
• Even the draft 2020 notification which was floated for public discussion does not treat the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) differently than the rest of the country.

Flaws in the Graded Approach

• The Indian regulatory system uses a graded approach, a differentiated risk management approach depending on the area of the project.
• It considers whether a project is coming up within a protected forest, a reserved forest, a national park or a critical tiger habitat.
• The stringency of rules at the scoping stage of the EIA process is proportional to the value and sensitivity of the habitat being impacted by the project.
• We are well aware that the Himalayas are inherently vulnerable to extreme weather conditions and are seismically active.
• Climate change has added another layer of vulnerability to this ecosystem.
• Despite this, there is no mention of a different set of environmental standards needed for any project located in the IHR.

Issues plaguing EIA in India

• There is no regulator at the national level, as suggested by the Supreme Court of India in 2011 in the Lafarge Umiam Mining case.
  • To carry out an independent, objective and transparent appraisal and approval of the projects for ECs.
  • To monitor the implementation of the conditions laid down in the EC.
• The EIA process now reacts to development proposals rather than anticipate them.
• Because they receive funding from the project sponsor, there is a tendency towards favouring the project.
• The current process lacks sufficient consideration of cumulative impacts in the context of multiple projects in the area concerned.
• However, it does address the project’s subcomponents or ancillary developments to some degree.
• In many cases, the EIA is done in a ‘box ticking approach’ manner, as a mere formality.

Conclusion

• The policymakers should explore alternative tools, such as strategic environmental assessment, to assess the cumulative impact of development in a specific area.
• This approach can help address the essential policy requirements of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).