The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has come up with a ‘Star Rating’ system for State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) granting environment clearance in least possible time.
- The decision was taken after a meeting chaired by the cabinet secretary to discuss the action taken on “Ease of Doing Business” and there was a discussion regarding the ranking of states based on the time taken to accord clearances.
What is Star Rating System?
- The ministry has come up with criteria for star rating the SEIAA based on seven criteria such as: average number of days for granting Environment Clearance, percentage of disposal of fresh terms of reference/ToR amendment proposals awaiting for more than 30 days, percentage of fresh Environment Clearance awaiting for more than 105 days and an average number of days taken for accepting the proposals for ToR/EC and complaints reassessed by the SEIAAs.
- The rating for the SEIAA will be a dynamic process based on performance during the last six months. Data for a block of six months starting the first and last days of the block period will be considered. This will be updated at the end of every month.
- An SEIAA, for instance, gets two marks for granting a clearance in less than 80 days, one mark for within 105 days and no marks for more. If less than 10% of the projects for scrutiny prompted a site visit by committee members, to examine ground conditions, the SEIAA would get one mark. More than 20%, on the other hand, would be a demerit or zero marks. SEIAA with a score of seven or more would be rated ‘five star.’
What are the objectives?
- The Centre has decided to incentivise the states through a Star Rating system, based on the efficiency and timelines in the grant of Environment Clearance.
- This is intended as a mode of recognition and encouragement as well as for promoting improvements where needed.
Apprehensions
- Environment law experts fear this could mean competing with each other in granting faster clearances without addressing environmental concerns properly.
- A perusal of the criteria reveals that greater weightage is given for projects where due diligence is less.
- The process ensures that the aim will be to clear projects at the shortest possible time.
- The task of the SEIAA is undertake a ‘detailed scrutiny’ whereas this notification makes them rubber stamp authorities
Environment Clearance status
- According to the Environment Ministry, the average time taken in the grant of Environment Clearance has reduced considerably, to approximately 75 days as against the timeline of 105 days, prescribed in the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006.
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