1.
Any person who desires to undertake any new project or the expansion or modernisation of any existing industry or project listed in the Schedule I shall submit an application to the Secretary,Ministry of Environment and Forests,New Delhi.
The application shall be made in the proforma specified in Schedule II and shall be accompanied by a project report which shall,inter alia,include an Environmental Impact Assessment Report/Environment Management Plan prepared in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment and Forests from time to time.
Cases rejected due to submission of insufficient or in adequate data and plans may be reviewed as and when submitted with complete data and plans.Submission of incomplete data or plans for the second time would itself be a sufficient reason for the Impact Assessment Agency to reject the case summarily.
2.
In case of the following site specific projects:
a) Mining;
b) Pit- head thermal power stations;
c) Hydro-power,major irrigation projects and/or their combination including flood control;
d) Ports and harbours;
e) Prospecting and exploration of major minerals in areas above 500 ha.;
The project authorities will intimate the location of the project site to the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment and Forests while initiating any investigations and surveys.The Central Government in the Ministry of Environment and Forests will convey a decision regarding suitability or otherwise of the proposed site within a maximum period of 30 days.The said site clearance shall be granted for a sanctioned capacity and shall be valid for a period of five years for commencing the construction,operation or mining.
3.
The reports submitted with the application shall be evaluated and assessed by the Impact Assessment Agency,and if deemed necessary it may consult a committee of Experts,having a composition as specified in Schedule III.The Impact Assessment Agency (IAA) would be the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.The committee of experts mentioned above shall be constituted by the IAA or such other body under the Central Government authorised by the IAA in this regard.
The said Committee of experts shall have full right of entry and inspection of the site or,as the case may be,factory premises at any time prior to,during or after the commencement of the operations relating to the project.
The Impact Assessment Agency shall prepare a set of recommendations based on technical assessment of documents and data,furnished by the project authorities,supplemented by data collected during visits to sites or factories if undertaken,and interaction with affected population and environmental groups,if necessary.Summary of the reports,the recommendation and the conditions,subject to which environmental clearance is given,shall be made available subject to the public interest to the concerned parties or environmental groups on request.Comments of the public may be solicited,if so decided by the Imapact Assessment Agency,within thirty days of receipt of proposal,in public hearings arranged for the purpose after giving thirty days notice of such hearings in at least two newspapers.Public shall be provided access,subject to the public interest,to the summary of the reports/Environment Management Plans at the Headquarters of the Impact Assessment Agency.
The assessment shall be completed within a period of 90 days from receipt of the requisite documents and data from the project authorities and completion of public hearing,where required,and decision conveyed within 30 days thereafter.
The clearance granted shall be valid for a period of 5 years for commencement of the construction or operation.
No construction work,preliminary or otherwise,relating to the setting up of the project may not be undertaken till the environmental and/or site clearance is obtained.
4. In order to enable the Impact Assessment Agency to monitor effectively the implementation of the recommendations and conditions subject to which the environmental clearance has been given,the project authorities concerned shall submit a half-yearly report to the Impact Assessment Agency.Subject to the public interest,the IAA,shall make compliance reports publicly available.
5. If no comments from the Impact Assessment Agency are received within the time limit,the project would be deemed to have been approved as proposed by project authorities.
Ref : Environmental Guidelines for Industries
