Opposing the 2020 draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notice issued by the Center, the state’s Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray has said that it does not align with the 2016 Paris climate agreement and represents a major threat to the goal of sustainable growth.
In a letter to Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, on 10 August, one day before the deadline for submitting objections and suggestions, Aaditya raised several issues, including the exemption granted to activities destructive to the environment such as coal prospecting. , crushing and screening of iron ore, as well as seismic studies for oil and gas exploration.
Aaditya, who has earned a reputation for tackling environmental causes (she was involved in an anti-logging campaign in the Aarey colony in Mumbai last year for the construction of a Metro car shed), also expressed concern about the reduction the role of the state government in decisions related to the environment.
He also noted that while the new standards did not require public consultations for expansion to up to 50 percent of existing projects, for expansion to 25 percent of existing projects, the EIA process was not necessary at all.
Aaditya also opposed the granting of ex post facto environmental authorization to the projects and that violations would be legally recognized only if they were reported by the project proponents and government officials and not by affected individuals.
“If projects are approved in ecologically sensitive regions like Konkan without extensive public deliberation, they will have an adverse impact on the region’s biodiversity, fishermen’s livelihoods and agricultural products,” he said.
Aaditya said that the Sahyadris or the Western Ghats are among the eight “hottest hot spots” for biodiversity in the world and that much of the Western Ghats are eco-sensitive areas (ESA). “It is observed that the draft EIA reduces the definitions of the ESAs, effectively excluding towns, forests, wetlands, coasts, etc.,” he wrote.
“By diluting the nature and scope of scrutiny of the environmental impacts of proposed projects, and by failing to consider the impact of climate change on decision-making processes, the proposed notification runs counter to the mandate given to the government under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Law of 1986, ”the letter said.
“Governments must listen to the voice of the citizens, the locals affected by the projects and the unheard-of voice of Mother Nature. It is the public interest that must be defended instead of the authorizations, and the environment is at the core of the people’s interest, “he added.
The Worli MLA urged Javadekar to consider these issues. “The notification, in its current form, does not align with the Paris climate agreement and poses a major threat to our goal of achieving sustainable growth,” he said.
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