Environmental Clearance

Environmental Clearance is needed for the project proponents of any project or activity as listed below. They need to get Environmental Clearance Certificate before starting any work on the site including the land preparation. Environmental Clearance is provided by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the projects classified as Category A while the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority provides Environmental Clearance on the state level for the projects classified as Category B. This is required to ensure the safe execution of the development work with the least interference to the public and environmental health.

Environmental Clearance Certificate Issuing Authority

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a notification on 14th September 2006 about the requirement of Prior Environmental Clearance for the projects and activities listed below. These projects, activities and construction work are divided into A and B categories. The Environmental Clearance Certificate in India must be acquired before starting any construction work or land preparation. The following authorities will deal with and provide the clearance for the projects of A and B categories at the state and central level-

The categorisation of projects and activities is based on the extent of the potential impact it has on the environment, human health and man-made resources-

• Category A

Any projects or activities listed as Category 'A' in the Schedule, which includes expanding and upgrading existing projects or changing the types of products, must get permission from the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change beforehand. This permission will be granted by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), which will be set up by the Central Government specifically for this purpose.

• Category B

Projects or activities listed as Category 'B' in the Schedule, which include expanding, upgrading, or changing product types need to obtain environmental clearance certificate from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). The regulating authority makes a decision based on the recommendations of a State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC). This committee is formed to decide on these matters only.

Category B projects are considered category A if no SEIAA is functioning in the jurisdiction. Also when the site is located near protected areas, critically polluted areas, natural eco-sensitive areas, inter-state or international boundaries.

Here is a list given of the projects that need to obtain an environmental clearance certificate from the State or Central Authority through due environmental clearance process based on their categorisation into the A or B category-

Mining, Extraction of Natural Resources and Power Generation

• Mining of minerals
• Oil and gas exploration, development & production
• River valley projects
• Thermal power plants
• Nuclear power projects

Primary Processing

• Coal washeries
• Mineral beneficiation

Materials Production

• Metallurgical industries (ferrous and non-ferrous)
• Cement plants

Materials Processing

• Petroleum refining industry
• Coke oven plants
• Asbestos milling and asbestos-based products
• Chlor-alkali industry
• Soda ash Industry
• Leather, skin, hide processing industry

Manufacturing and Fabrication

• Chemical fertilizers
• Pesticides industry and pesticide-specific intermediates
• Petrochemical complexes
• Manmade fibre manufacturing
• Petrochemical-based processing
• Synthetic organic chemicals industry
• Distilleries
• Integrated paint industry
• Pulp & paper industry
• Sugar Industry
• Induction, arc furnaces, cupola furnaces

Service Sectors

• Oil & gas transportation pipeline
• Isolated storage & handling of hazardous chemicals

Physical Infrastructure including Environmental Services

• Airports
• All ship-breaking yards including ship-breaking units
• Industrial estates, parks, complexes and areas
• Export processing Zones (EPZs)
• Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
• Biotech Parks
• Leather Complexes
• Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs)
• Ports, Harbours
• Highways
• Aerial ropeways
• Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs)
• Common Municipal Solid Waste Management Facility (CMSWMF)

Building, Construction Projects, Area Development Projects and Townships

• Building and Construction Projects
• Townships and Area Development Projects

The State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) Delhi has decided in its meeting on a list of documents required for the grant of environmental assessment. The list may differ for different states and also some of the documents may be optional considering the type of project you are applying for. To apply for Environmental Clearance Certificate, you will require to attach the following documents-

• Covering Letter
• ToR or Previous EC and Certified Compliance (if applicable)
• Form 1, Form 1A or other Requisite forms
• Land ownership documents
• Land Use Documents with Approval
• Environment Management Plan
• Pre-Feasibility Report and Conceptual Plan
• EIA Report along with the compliance of TOR (if applicable)
• Risk Assessment
• Brief Summary of the Project
• GPS File (KML only)
• Details regarding the location of the Project with respect to the other important features
• Details Environment Consultant
• Details of Project Proponent with undertaking
• Layout and Building Plan including Site Plan with Tree Mapping (with Approval)
• Traffic Management Plan supported by a layout plan
• Copy of application submitted for Wildlife Clearance
• Copy of previous EC Letter (in case of revision, expansion, modification, amendment)
• Ground Water Details
• Local Body Approvals

The Environmental Clearance Certificate is sought by the project proponent from the Expert Appraisal Committee at the central level and the State Expert Appraisal Committee at the state level. The Environmental Clearance Registration Process in India comprises the following steps-

Stage 1:- Application for Environmental Clearance Certification

• An application shall be made under Form 1 and if applicable then supplementary Form 1A shall also be submitted.
• Requisite documents shall be submitted along with the application. There should be Pre-Feasibility Report with the application for project and activity categories 1 to 7 but for the 8th category, you must submit a conceptual plan instead of the Pre-Feasibility Report.

Stage 2:- Screening of the Application

• The screening is done only for the projects of Category - B.
• In the stage of screening, the Appraisal Committee decides whether the project or activity requires environmental studies and an Environmental Impact Assessment Report or not.
• If yes then it is categorised as B1 category and if not then the application is categorised as B2 category.

Stage 3:- Scoping of the Application

• After the screening is done, next comes the scoping.
• In this stage, the Expert Appraisal Committee goes through the Terms of Reference proposed by the applicant addressing all the environmental impacts for the preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report.
• A site visit can be performed by a sub-group of the Expert Appraisal Committee if considered necessary.
• On the recommendation of the Expert Appraisal Committee and the State Expert Appraisal Committee, the application for the grant of Prior Environmental Clearance Registration is rejected at this stage if necessary.
• In case of a rejection, such a decision must be conveyed by the responsible authority to the applicant within sixty days from the date of application.

Stage 4:- Public Consultation for the Impact of the Project

• If the application is passed by the Expert Appraisal Committee in the previous stage of scoping then we move on to the public consultation.
• In this stage, the opinions and recommendations of the affected people are discussed.
• It comprises two components- Public Hearing and Written Responses.
• SPCB or PCC is responsible for conducting the public hearing at the site or in any area within proximity to the site.
• If they don’t perform the public hearings and send data to the regulatory authority within forty-five days the duty is passed on to other public authority which is not subordinate to the regulatory authority with the extension of another forty-five days.
• After the Public Hearing is completed and the written responses are received, the applicant needs to address all the questions that arose during the process and needs to make necessary changes to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Environment Management Plan (EMP).
• The applicant needs to submit the final EIA after making necessary alterations to the regulatory authority for appraisal.

Stage 5:- Appraisal by the Expert Appraisal Committee

• This stage comprises the scrutiny of the application, documents, EIA, the outcome of public consultation etc.
• The decision is taken by the Expert Appraisal Committee about the appraisal within sixty days from the date of submission of the final Environment Assessment Report.

Stage 6:- Grant of Environmental Clearance Certificate

• The regulating authority which is the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority at the state level and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change at the central level, shall convey its decision after going through the recommendations of the Expert Appraisal Committee.
• Such a decision shall be taken within forty-five days of the receipt of recommendations. And subsequently, the Environmental Clearance Certificate is granted.

Checklist for Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects

The project proponents need to submit details regarding the environmental impact assessment of their project under many heads. These heads are as follows-

• Land Environment
• Waster Environment
• Air Environment
• Vegetation
• Fauna
• Aesthetics
• Socio-Economic Aspects
• Building Materials
• Energy Conservation
• Environment Management Plan

Environment Management Plan consists of all the mitigation measures to be taken for each environmental impact discussed under these heads.

The validity of the environmental clearance varies from five to thirty years based on the type of project. For river valley projects the validity of Environmental Clearance Certificate is ten years. It is thirty Years for mining projects and five years for all other projects. For construction projects, the project proponent can make an updated application under Form 1 along with the supplementary Form 1A for the extension and the regulating authority can extend the validity of environmental clearance after consulting with the Expert Appraisal Committee. Such consultation is not compulsory though.

Although this piece of article clears most of the doubts regarding the procedure of Environmental Clearance, there is still some critical information you need to understand before applying for the environmental clearance certificate. Our team at Corpseed understands the need of the client and provides personalised assistance to them taking care of the applicable rules, regulations and guidelines in force at such a specific time. We conduct desk-based research, documentation, and coordination to ease the way of getting environmental clearance for you. Corpseed is a one-stop solution for all your business needs.