Govt notifies two new interim state-level bodies to issue environmental clearances

NEw new delhi: The unification environs Ministry has notified the composition of ii new interim state-level bodies, which will automatically take charge and issue environmental clearances (EC) for projects whenever the tenure of the existing State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAA) and State Expert Appraisal Committees (SEAC) expire. In a notification, the Ministry said the two new bodies created – the Standing Authority on Environment Impact Assessment (SAEIA) and the Standing Committee on Environment Impact Appraisal (SCEIA) were needed, as the process of re-notifying the state-level bodies would lead to a backlog of projects, thus delaying clearances.“The tenure of SEIAA and SEAC is three years, extendable by one year. In theabsence of SEIAA and SEAC, appraisal of projects within their domain is carried out at the Central level. The process of reconstitution is ordinarily initiated six months prior to expiry, however, delays occur due to late or incomplete submission of proposals from States,” said the notification, dated July 13, adding the Ministry had to examine the process of EC clearance at the state level.“It has been observed that delayed re-constitution of SEIAA leads to complete halt in the EC process at the state levels and the pending proposals are transferred in bulk to the Centre leading to extended timelines and unwarranted delays in the appraisal of the projects, thereby impacting project timelines and investor confidence.” it added.The notification clarifies that the two bodies will ensure continuity of SEIAA and SEAC, acting as an ‘interim’ arrangement for the purpose of appraisal of projects. While largescale category A projects go to the Centre directly, smaller, category B projects are cleared by these two state-level bodies.The notification said the SAEIA will be headed by the chief secretary or advisor to the administrator or Lt. Governor (LG) as its chairperson, with the other members including the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) and the special secretary/joint secretary/deputy secretary in the environment department as its member secretary. The SCEIA, the notification says, will assist the SAEIA and will be headed by the administrative secretary of the environment department of the state or UT, while also comprising of the state’s chief wildlife warden and member secretary of the state pollution board. It will also have a domain expert – either the director or principal of an IIT or National Institute of Technology located in the state or UT.The notification further amends the EIA Notification, 2006 – extending the tenure of the SEIAAs and the SEACs from three years to four years. Further, it specifies that the re-constitution of the state-level bodies needs to be initiated at least six months before the expiry of the tenure.