Assignment 2

Subject: Energy Science and Technology (ME-211)

Name: ARIJIT PATOWARY
Scholar ID: 1812049
Section: ME(A)
B.Tech., 4th Semester, 2nd Year,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
NIT Silchar.
Q. Describe Environmental impact assessment of india.

ANS--

Introduction
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the formal process used to predict the environmental
consequences (positive or negative) of a plan, policy, program, or project prior to the decision to
move forward with the proposed action. Formal impact assessments may be governed by rules of
administrative procedure regarding public participation and documentation of decision making,
and may be subject to judicial review. An impact assessment may propose measures to adjust
impacts to acceptable levels or to investigate new technological solutions (Encyclopedia, 2015). It
is anticipatory, participatory, and systematic in nature and relies on multidisciplinary input
(Glasson, Therival, & Chadwick, 1994).
U.K. Department of Environment defined EIA as ‘‘The term environmental assessment describes
the technique and process by which the information about the environmental effects of the
project is collected both by the developer and other sources and taken into account by the
planning authority informing their judgement whether the development should go ahead.’’
The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines an EIA as ‘‘The process of
identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant
effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made.’’
EIAs commenced in the 1960s, as part of increasing environmental awareness. The USA was the
first country to enact legislation on EIA. In the United States, EIAs obtained formal status in
1969, with enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act. This was the first time that EIA
became the official tool to be used to protect the environment. The United Nations Conference on
the Environment in Stockholm in 1972 and subsequent conventions formalized EIA (Ogola, 2007).
EIAs have been used increasingly around the world. They have also been recognised in various
international instruments.

Phases involve in the EIA Process:

Some important as well as integral phases of EIA are discussed below:

Screening: Project screening is the 1st stage of EIA. In this stage list of all projects are made
and tried to identify those projects which have considerable environmental impacts and hence
required EIA. Guidelines for whether or not an EIA is required are country specific depending on
the laws or norms in operation. Legislation often specifies the criteria for screening and full EIA.
In many countries there is a readymade list of different projects and investment proposal which
comes under preview of EIA.

Scoping: Consideration of issues and impacts for EIA can be defined as a scoping stage. This
stage is very wide and extensive because consultations, discussions, experts’ opinions etc. are
very important, useful and essential at this stage. It should involve all interested groups such as
the proponents and planning or environmental agencies and members of the public. The results
of scoping will determine the scope, depth and terms and reference to be addressed within the
environmental statement.
Selection of Alternatives: In the scoping stage also selection of alternatives are
considered. This include alternative sites or location, technology, commodity and process which
are determine on the basis of collecting data and information from various possible sources. The
developer considers both environment and economic criteria while choosing the alternatives. So
far as environmental consideration is concern there are two types of alternative- No Action
Alternative and In Action Alternative. No action alternative refers to environmental considerations
if the project did not go ahead. It takes more careful discussion and thinking while in action
alternatives are positive indicators for the project.

Mitigating measures: Mitigation can be defined as a process of removing or reducing the

adverse hazardous environmental impact of the project. This reveals the action taken to prevent,
avoid or minimize the actual or potential adverse effect of project. These measures include the
abandoning or modifying of a proposal, substitution of technique etc. this should include the
various pollution abatement techniques that would be require to reduce pollution to the legal
limit. A package programme may be needed for this. It includes tax, fees, tradable pollution
permits etc.
Environmental statement (ES):
It is defined by the International Chamber of Commerce as a management tool comprising a
systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of how well environmental
organizations, management and equipment are performing with the aim of helping to safeguard
the environment. This is the final stage of an EIA and is now often required by law before a new
project can proceed. Most national environmental laws have specified what the content of ES
should have. Ideally, the content of an ES should have the following: Executive summary; Policy,
legal and administrative framework; Description of the environment; Description of the proposed
project in detail; Significant environmental impacts; Identification and analysis of alternatives;
Mitigation action/mitigation management plan; Environmental management plan; Monitoring
program; Knowledge gaps; Public involvement; List of references; Appendices including
Reference documents, photographs, unpublished data, Terms of Reference, Consulting team
composition; Notes of public consultation sessions.
The ES is submitted to designate authority for scrutiny before the final decision. The authority,
together with technical review panel determines the quality of ES and gives the public further
opportunity to comment. Based on the outcome of the review, the designated authority or lending
institution will accept, reject or make further modifications to avoid future confrontation. The
decision making process should be autonomous so that the outcome of the review is seen as fair
enough. The duration of this process is usually set in the EIA legal framework.

Present Status of EIA in India

In India, EIAs of development projects were first started in 1977-78 when the Department of
Science and Technology took up environmental appraisal of river valley projects. Subsequently,
various other projects were brought under the purview of EIA. It was, however, in 1994 when EIA
was made mandatory in India under the Environmental Protection Act of 1986.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, has prepared
environmental guidelines, to help the project proponents to work out an EIA. Guidelines have
been prepared to bring out specific information on the environment required for environmental
clearance. The agencies, which are primarily responsible for the respective sectors are closely
involved in preparing the guidelines. River valley projects, thermal power projects, mining
projects and industries, ports and harbours, development of beaches, highway/railway projects
are the sectors for which guidelines have already been prepared. These guidelines basically
consist of aspects regarding planning and implementation of development projects. Projects
where EIA is mandatory and requires clearance from central government as of now, EIA clearance
is required for 30 categories of industries. The project proponent is require to submit an
application along with duly filled up questionnaire, EIA and environment management report,
public hearing proceeding and the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the statement pollution
control board.
The MoEF has set up five multidisciplinary expert committees in the areas of industry, thermal
power, river valley, mining and infrastructure and miscellaneous project to evaluate the
environmental impact of proposed project.
The committee evaluate the environmental impacts of the proposed project and wherever
necessary, site visits and independent assessment of environmental aspects are also undertaken.
Based on such examination the committee make recommendation for the approval or rejection of
the proposal which are then processed in the ministry for approval or rejection. In case of site
specific project, such as mining, river valley, ports and harbours etc the project proponent has to
obtain sit clearance before applying for environmental clearance of the project.
In India, public consultation have been made compulsory component of EIA by an amendment
dated April 10, 1997 to the EIA notification 1994. The State Pollution Control Board and concern
district collectors are responsible for the public consultation process through duly constituted
public hearing panel.
The members of a public hearing panel are: (i) Representative of State Pollution Control Board (ii)
District Collector or his nominee (iii) Representative of State Government dealing with the subject
of Power (iv) Representative of Department of State Government dealing with Environment (v)
Not more than three representatives of the local bodies such as Municipalities or Panchayat (vi)
Not more than three senior citizens of the area nominated by the District Collector.

Issues involve in EIA process

The EIA experience in India indicates that the lack of timely availability of reliable and authentic
environmental data has been a major bottle neck in achieving the full benefits of EIA. The
environment being a multi-disciplinary subject, a multitude of agencies is involved in collection of
environmental data. However, no single organization in India tracks available data from these
agencies and make it available in one place in a form required by environmental impact
assessment practitioners. Further, environmental data is not available in enhanced forms that
improve the quality of the EIA. This makes it harder and more time-consuming to generate EIAs
and receive timely environmental clearances from regulators (Encyclopedia, 2015).
In some instances where public participation is required by EIA legislation, such participation
could be limited in practice. For example, the law in India required that a public hearing is
conducted; however, NGOs often considered the public hearing as staged process that appeared
to involve citizens when the decision had already been made (Naber, 2012).
When the EIA is linked to the licensing process, it may become a tool for rent-seeking and could
be a source of illegal influence on the responsible authorities.

Effects of industrial development on environment

At the same time, industrial processes can have negative environmental impacts, causing
climate change, loss of natural resources, air and water pollution and extinction of species. These
threaten the global environment as well as economic and social welfare.
Industrial Pollution in Indian Industries
Industrial pollution is one of the most evident environmental problems experienced by now in
industrialized countries and majority of the newly industrializing economies are facing it today.
India's industrial structure has gone through various changes especially since the economic
reforms. However, in India no major environmental reforms were initiated to take into
consideration the impact of changing industrial pattern on environment. Therefore, there is a
need for analyzing the environmental impacts of industrial sector in India. Since different
industries have different pollution intensity, this paper has first taken a look at the composition of
industrial structure. Using the Industrial Pollution Projection model of World Bank for calculating
pollution load in developing countries where continuous industrial pollution data is not available,
we have calculated the changes in the pollution load of Indian industries. Finally, we conclude by
suggesting policy reforms that are needed to encourage more efficient use of resources and
substituting away from scarce resources and adoption of technologies and practices that minimize
environment impact.

Fig. Industrial pollution in Indian industries

Conclusion
The EIA process is an interdisciplinary and multi-step procedure to ensure that environmental
considerations are included in decisions regarding projects that may impact the environment.
Simply defined, it is a formal process use to predict the environmental consequences of any
developmental project. From the above study it is clear that before implementation of a particular
project, which has potential threat to environment as well as to human life, a proper scrutiny has
been made. Thus, it ensures that the potential problems are foreseeing and addressed at an early
stage at/ in the project planning and designing. India’s battle to reduce dangerous levels of air
pollution is at a turning point. In a major step at the national level, the Ministry of Environment,
Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) recently launched the National Clean Air Program (NCAP).
At the local level, cities across India are fed up with air pollution and are starting to fight back.
Both national and city level actions are a major topic at the World Sustainable Development
Summit. India’s battle to reduce dangerous levels of air pollution is at a turning point. In a major
step at the national level, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
recently launched the National Clean Air Program (NCAP). At the local level, cities across India
are fed up with air pollution and are starting to fight back. Both national and city level actions are
a major topic at the World Sustainable Development Summit