IDYF demands the immediate withdrawal of the draft "Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2020"
INDIAN DEMOCRATIC YOUTH FEDERATION demands the immediate withdrawal of the draft "Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2020"
We demand the immediate withdrawal of the draft "Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2020", as after perusing the said draft we are convinced that it will contribute substantially for immense acceleration of ecological destruction throughout our country.
We raise this demand because of the following reasons:
Even though the Honorable Supreme Court expressed disapproval regarding the practice of granting environmental clearance for industrial units, development projects etc. on a post facto basis, the present notification provides for post facto clearance for large scale projects, having the potential for huge environmental damage. Such a provision categorically violates the very basic understanding of environmental security. It totally flouts the essence and fundamental provisions of the existing law, THE ENVIRONMENT (PROTECTION) ACT, 1986. Besides, the new draft Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2020 goes against the position put forward by the supreme court too.
It is vitally important to get the opinions and concerns of the local people who would be adversely affected due to the industrial or developmental project which requires the environmental clearance. While the existing law stipulates it mandatory, the present draft of EIA 2020 weakens that process. lt marks some projects as having 'strategic considerations' and exempts from the entire process of public consultation. By increasing the list of project categories exempted from public consultation our freedom of speech is curbed and the voices of affected communities suppressed. Wider questions of democracy are also involved in this as the said proposals didn't go through any discussions of legislative bodies especially the houses of the parliament. Experts' opinion had not been heard regarding this matter.
The notification exempts some huge construction projects like the controversial Central Vista project in Delhi under category B2 from holding public hearing and public consultation before seeking environmental clearance.
The EIA 2020 prevents the general public and environmental organisations or activists and researchers from reporting violations of environmental norms from the part of industries or projects. It says that the violations of environmental laws should be reported only by government authorities or the developer or industrialist. It means that the reports of violations furnished by the violators themselves only would be considered by the government.
Fragile Coasts and flood defenders like mangroves and shores will be opened up to exploitation for port & industry development, affecting more than 20,000 aquatic fauna seriously affecting the enviornment, the habitat and the lively hood of the fishermen.
The said draft further violates the rights of the tribals as stipulated in the constitution, which included such rights in schedules 5 and 6 of the constitution. This will make matters worse in tribal areas if this draft is finalised and implemented.
The draft has totally gone against wildlife protection even in the national parks.
Experts have pointed out that the provisions of the present draft notification violate the agreed international practices as it exempts certain categories of development projects from environmental clearance even without showing any rationale for scientific reasons.
The dilution of environmental laws and norms as it can be seen in the draft EIA notification, will be highly detrimental to the principles of sustainable development, especially at the present situation of crisis due to water scarcity, pollution, global warming and climate change.
It is seen that the present draft notification exempts forty types of projects including clay and sand extraction projects, digging of wells, manufacturing of solar photovoltaic and coal and non coal mineral mining from prior environmental clearance. This clause is definitely going to affect farmers adversely and the base of rural life in many areas. Again, this will intensify the agrarian distress multiplying the miseries of poor peasants, small peasants and even middle peasants as the deadly process advances. This will increase rural unemployment drastically paving way to unrest including social and cultural deterioration among the young generation.
The proposed EIA 2020 makes the state level regulatory authorities and expert committees with regard to EIA and other environmental related issues powerless and gives the central government more control over state level bodies concerned. Thus it violates the very principles of federalism and denies the rights of states. The whole developmental paradigm will be at havoc causing severe damage to the socio economic fabric that shall result degenerative course regarding the upbringing of secular democratic society. Above all this shall negatively impact upon the socialist aim which had been dreamt of by shaheed Bhagat Singh and thousands of great martyrs and that had been enshrined in the heralding proclamation of the constitution.
Meanwhile, the Honorable High Court of Karnataka pointed out that the EIA 2020 proposal has to be made available in local language so as to make it understandable to people having no knowledge of English or Hindi. This also is a question related with federalism and democracy. This kind of notifications affecting and influencing the lives of people including tribals and marginalised has to be discussed among them also and hence be made available in vernacular languages.
The draft EIA 2020 is very much concerned about the protection of interests of capital and its profit while the interests of common people, sustainable development, biodiversity, environmental security and the like are ignored deliberately.
The government tries to propagate that the promulgation of laws or norms like those in this notification would lead to rapid industrialisation and economic prosperity. Actually, any kind of legislation that causes environmental degradation by itself will wipe out large number of labour opportunities in the agrarian sector, associated industries and traditional industrial sectors. This will lead to de-industrialization in the above said sectors. It will lower the guard against hazards in working enviorment and will lower the quality of workers' and toiling peoples' living conditions. It is highly likely to promote contractualisation of labour, and cause increase in child labour and bonded labour in expanding mining sector etc.
It is true that the existing environmental laws are violated every day across the length and breadth of the country and the violators are being left unpunished. If such violations are possible in spite of the existing statutes, laws, regulations, institutions and the courts like Haritha tribunals, the outcome of dilution of existing laws and dismantling of the system on the basis of the said EIA 2020 will be disastrous.
Hence, we demand the withdrawal of the said proposals of EIA 2020. We demand for the effective implementation of the existing environmental laws to ensure sustainable development and scientific protection of environment and biodiversity.
*Adesh Bansode*
*9673184742*
*Convener*
*Indian Democratic Youth Federation*