The Minister of State for Mines, Steel and Labour & Employment Vishnu Deo Sai has said that the Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 which deals with the process to grant Environmental Clearances. The projects of mining of minerals as stated in the schedule require prior environment clearance under this notification. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today Shri Vishnu Deo Sai said, the time lines have been prescribed under the EIA Notification, 2006. Accordingly Term of References (TORs) shall be conveyed by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) within sixty days of the receipt of Form-I to the Project Proponent. Thereafter, as per the TORs issued, the project proponents are required to comply with the conditions mentioned in the TORs which inter-alia include collection of base-line data, approved mine plan, conducting public consultations, and submission of final EIA/ Environment Management Plan (EMP) Reports to the Ministry of Environment and Forests along with all the relevant documents.
The Minister said, on receipt of final EIA/EMP report after the public consultation, the project is appraised by the EAC within sixty days in a transparent manner in a proceeding to which the Proponent is invited for furnishing necessary clarification in person or through an authorized representative. Thereafter, the EAC makes appropriate recommendations of the proposal and the Ministry takes the final decision with regard to Environmental Clearance as per the EIA Notification, 2006. This decision is conveyed to the Proponent within forty five days of the receipt of the recommendations of EAC. In other words, the decision is to be conveyed within one hundred five days from the receipt of the final EIA/EMP report/requisite documents from the Project Proponent.