Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said the State-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State-level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) have been notified by the Centre, “following a proposal by the Delhi government”. Mr. Rai said that now it will be easier to handle applications and the environment impact assessment will become more robust and transparent in the State.
“Category ‘B’ projects requiring environmental clearance will not have to wait for the Central government’s approval and approval will now be given in a fast-tracked manner by the Delhi government itself. As much as fast tracking will be a sought after solution, we will also make the system more robust and transparent. Environment protection is one of the prime responsibilities of the Delhi government and we will not compromise on it,” Mr. Rai said.
Delhi government had sent its proposal for reconstitution of SEIAA/SEAC, along with names of experts, to the Central government in 2020 and after multiple correspondence and meetings, the notification was finally issued, as per authorities.
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“It is to be noted that as per the Environment Protection Rules, all category ‘A’ projects [mega projects] are approved by an Expert Appraisal Committee of the MoEFCC while all category ‘B’ projects [large projects] are approved by the State Level Authority (SEIAA),” an official statement said.
Lower pendency
The authority will meet monthly, leading to faster decision making and lower pendency of cases and it can also mandate regular inspection of project sites which have been granted environment clearance (EC) to ensure that they are complying with norms, the Delhi government said.
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As per the gazette notification, Sarvagya Kumar Srivastava will be Chairman of the SEIAA, Reena Gupta, Special Secretary of Environment Department of Govt. of Delhi, will be the member Secretary.