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India's EIA Notification of 2006 itself was a massive dilution of its predecessor: the 1994 notification on environmental clearances for industrial projects. In this paper, submitted as a thesis for my MA, I had looked at how its dilutions came about. https://mrajshekhar.wordpress.com/on-the-drafting-of-the-environment-impact-assessment-notification-2006/ #1 https://twitter.com/Yuvan_aves/status/1260743592781377537
"Environmental governance in India is a puzzle. Last September, after four years of toil, the country unveiled a brand new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification that left almost every shortcoming of the previous notification untouched." #2
Trying to reconstruct the policy-making process that resulted in the 2006 notification, I had found a three way split where the states wanted decentralisation, companies wanted deregulation and MoEF wanted to cede as few powers as possible. #3
If the process was confrontational, it was also exclusionary. Scientific posts in the MoEF had been slowly converted to non-scientific ones and taken over by the IAS and allied services. Similarly, expertise outside the ministry has been whittled down as well. #4
Bodies like the Wildlife Institute of India are (partly) funded by project evaluation studies, etc. This affects their ability to speak impartially. So, in 2006, when MoEF blocked environmental NGOs from consultations, no one was left to talk on behalf of the environment. #5
That was the story in 2006. I wonder how much has changed in these processes. Replug of thesis: https://mrajshekhar.wordpress.com/on-the-drafting-of-the-environment-impact-assessment-notification-2006/ dear professor @rogaly, remember this? the only A I got at @unisussex. :-)
some more links. see this interview with academic William Lockhart where he critiques India's environmental clearance process: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/interviews/reform-of-the-eia/clearance-process-critical-to-preserve-indias-natural-habitats-william-lockhart/articleshow/31848356.cms
that interview was conducted at the time when India was mulling the creation of an environment authority -- to take away project clearances from ministers and give it to a body like the EPA. an uphill struggle given our @#$#!! politicians, it failed. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/how-indias-upcoming-green-regulator-can-strike-a-balance-between-growth-environmental-protection/articleshow/31807389.cms
here, one old report on how moef tried to weaken the idea. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/environment-ministry-changes-stance-on-environment-authority-panel/articleshow/32695575.cms (env clearances are a good way to make money -- for ministers and corrupt mandarins)
here is another critique of the proposed authority by env lawyer/researcher shibani ghosh. https://www.epw.in/journal/2011/38/commentary/national-environment-assessment-and-monitoring-agency-step-forward.html
and a newer piece, out today, by the redoubtable @kanchikohli and equally redoubtable manju menon. https://science.thewire.in/environment/eia-2020-environmental-degradation-draft/
