Introduction: MoEF

Hey Corpseed readers, today we are going to talk about the MoEF guidelines for different types of construction projects. Before we start talking about the MoEF guidelines, let us give you a short introduction to the MoEF. MoEF means the ministry of environment and forest. Every planning, promotion, coordination, and oversight related to India's environmental and forestry affairs and programs falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), which serves as the supreme agency governed by the Central Government's administrative structure.

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Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) also acts as the country's only organization which works for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP), and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) also plays a really important role in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) also has to dealing with environmental issues involving local regional organizations such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Economic and Social Council for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP), The ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) also deal with the multi-nation environmental organizations such as Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Here is a List of Some Major Objectives of the Ministry of Environment and Forest:

• The primary objective of the ministry of environment and forest is to Conserve and survey the species of plants and animals. MoEF also conserves the forests and wildlife of the country. 
• Another objective of the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) is to Prevent and control the level of pollution in India. 
• Deforestation is one of the major issues nowadays and the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) promotes Afforestation and regeneration in the degraded areas of India. 
• The ministry also protects the environment in many ways and ensures the well-being of all the species of animals in India. 

What are the Guidelines of MoEF for Construction Projects?      

In the revised draught Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2020, the Ministry of environment and forest announced new rules and regulations for construction projects. This notification was launched on March 23, 2020, by the Ministry of Environment, Forests (MoEF). Previously, MoEF had amended the draught EIA notification in the year of 2006. 

All the procedures and standards for industrial and infrastructure development projects related to previous environmental clearance are also mentioned in the new version of the environmental clearance (EC) regulations. The period for a public hearing on the draught was initially set for two months, but they extended the date to August 11, 2020.

If any type of construction project covers a land area between 20,000 and 50,000 sq. meters, then they won't need any environmental approval from the government to continue the construction, the central government has declared some new regulations in its latest notification on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) in 2019. According to these new regulations from the Ministry of Environment, the decision to redefine the EIA standards with the help of the changes and lessons learned through years of implementation. "The ministry has decided to re-define the entire EIA notification, as they have issued the amendments and circulars from time to time as well as they have gained the experience over the years in implementing the EIA notification," it said. "The notification has done some noticeable substantial changes over the years."

As per the latest notification of Environmental Impact Assessment, the process of granting environment clearances for sand mining and construction activities was revoked and this decision was not accepted by several environmental activists, Environment activists was against this EIA notification because this notification is compromising on public hearings for the construction projects. This notification gives power to the district-level authorities directly because now these cases are headed by the local district magistrate. 

How to get Environmental Clearance Under The Latest Guidelines of MoEF?

The application for an environmental impact assessment have to mention the details about all the possible environmental impacts of the proponent’s project, such as how he would obtain the raw material, what amount of water and energy were used during the construction of the project, how proponent would remove the debris, how the proponent’s project would be transported from one place to another, what amount of solid waste would be generated and proponent would deal with it, how would be the mitigation process of the project, and proponent have to mention that how all the construction workers would stay healthy during the construction process. 

The proponent have to fill the form 1 and form 1A in the application format and submit that application in the department of SEAC. Most of the time, environmental consulting organizations act as the representatives of the construction companies and they gather the required data and find the necessary predictions, calculations, and mitigation strategies for the construction projects.

Once the proponent completes the process of application submission, the State Expert Appraisal Committee   (SEAC) would check the specified information of the construction project and this process would take some time. They would identify the potential problems of the application and complete any extra required information. After doing all this, State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) will recommend the application to State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for further operations. 

Before the issuing process of environment clearance, SEIAA check the complete information provided and review the SEAC recommendations (EC). The applicant must get a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the local water supply and sewage board for safe and secured water supply before beginning any construction activity on the site, even though clearances from other regulatory bodies or authorities are not necessary to get an environmental clearance. This is the regulation because water is a crucial component of every construction.

Is Construction Without Environmental Clearance is an Offence in India?

According to the recent amendment of EIA, Every planning and development local authority of different states such as BBMP, BDA, BMRDA, BIAAPA, KIADB, and others have been notified again by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and in that notification, they have mentioned that all projects which are occupying the area of more than 20,000 sq. built-up area had to get an Environment Clearance from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA)/state level authority, This was specifically mentioned in the 2006 EIA notification.

If anyone starts any construction without taking permission from the local authorities is an offense in India because every type of construction impacts the environment in a certain way. This goes exactly the same in the case of environment clearance. If any builder or business starts a big level of construction without Environmental clearance from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) then that construction would be considered as an offense in India because that construction would be a violation of the Environment Protection Act, 1986. MoEF has given the powers to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) to issue new regulations and directions and to deal which the Environmental offense. State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) is eligible to take action in the case of any type of violation of Environmental regulations and standards. 

Conclusion

In this article, we talked about the complete MoEF guidelines for construction projects and we have shared the complete process of EIA. This article talks about the working procedures of MoEF, SEAC, and SEIAA. We talked about the guidelines, objectives, and methods of the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) and how a proponent can avail the Environment clearance for his construction project. We have shared the information of Environmental related regulations and standards. If you want any help regarding the procedure of Environmental clearance or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for your project then you can visit our website Corpseed. We shall be glad to help you. Thank you for reading this blog.