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NEWS ALERTS | BORN TO CLEAR: 100% APPROVAL RATE FOR DAM PROJECTS

BORN TO CLEAR: 100% APPROVAL RATE FOR DAM PROJECTS

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published Published on Feb 6, 2013   modified Modified on Feb 6, 2013

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) has been the target of criticism from industry groups to the Prime Minister for allegedly holding up infrastructure and industrial development through its system of green clearances. But a recent analysis of 5 years of decision-making put out by an environmental group suggests why these attacks might be misplaced, given the ease with which every single of 262 proposed hydropower and irrigation projects around the country secured MOEF’s green signal, despite evidence of environmental laws being flouted, and concerns of damage. (See links below)

The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People probed the minutes of 63 meetings held over five years by the ministry’s expert approval body – which is entrusted with appraising a project proposal and deciding whether it should be rejected, or cleared, and if so, on what terms and conditions.

The EAC or Expert Approval Committee has not rejected a single proposal in this 5-year period, even when projects were proposed within the area of existing wildlife sanctuaries. It also not looked at the issues of compliance of the environmental and social measures by the projects already cleared. It has also ignored evidence of EIA reports being cut-copy-paste jobs or not mentioning downstream or social impact assessments, or of public hearings in the affected area not being held as required by law. It has also ignored cumulative impact assessments even though multiple projects have been proposed on the same rivers.

The network has also pointed to the fact that the MOEF does not disclose information about project proposals and status of clearances, despite being required to do so under RTI and despite clear directions from the Central Information Commission in February 2012 to follow this.  

Please check the links of the documents from SANDRP below:
 

"Analysisof MoEF Exp Appraisal Com on RVP Feb 2013" contains analysis of thefunctioning of this EAC from its first meeting in April 2007 to its latest,63rd meeting in Dec 2012.

http://www.im4change.orghttps://im4change.in/siteadmin/tin
ymce/uploaded/Analysis%20of%20MoEF%20EAC%20on%20River%20Va
lley%20Projects.pdf

 

"Statusof Stage 1 and 2 Clearances from EAC RVP of MoEF Feb 2013" containsproject wise details of EAC decisions in its various meetings

http://www.im4change.orghttps://im4change.in/siteadmin/tin
ymce/uploaded/Stage%20one%20and%20two%20Environment%20Clea
rance%20status.pdf

 

Analysisof functioning of MoEF's Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley Projects-South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People

http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/analysis-of-fun
ctioning-of-moef039s-expert-appraisal-committee-on-river-v
alley-projects-19204.html

 

Ministryof Environment and Forests Notification, 14 September, 2006, http://envfor.nic.in/legis/eia/so1533.pdf

 

Flood ofprotest hits Indian dams-Jane Qiu, 5 December, 2012, http://www.nature.com/news/flood-of-protest-hits-indian-da
ms-1.11932

 

The newenvironment clearance shopping mall-Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli, Infochange,September 2006, http://infochangeindia.org/environment/analysis/the-new-en
vironment-clearance-shopping-mall.html

 

Battle against dams building up, The Hindu, 6May, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/battle-against-
dams-building-up-14996.html



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