Context: 

• This article is based on an Editorial “The Indian Himalayan Region needs its own EIA” which was published in the Hindu. Recent incidents of Teesta dam breach in Sikkim, and the recent floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh remind us to assess the worthiness of any significant human endeavor in terms of its impact on the environment.

What is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?

• Identification: As per the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Environmental impact assessment is a tool to identify the environmental, social, and economic impacts of a project before its implementation. 
  • This tool compares various alternatives for the proposed project, predicts and analyzes all possible environmental repercussions in various scenarios. 
• Strategy: The EIA helps to decide appropriate mitigation strategies. 
  • The EIA process would need comprehensive, reliable data and would deliver results only if it is designed to seek the most appropriate, relevant and reliable information regarding the project. 

What is the history of Environmental Impact Assessment in India?

• 1976-77: In India, a precursor to the Environmental impact assessment began to assess the river valley projects from the environmental point of view. 
• 1994: The first EIA notification making Environmental Clearance (EC) mandatory by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
• 2006: The decentralization of the process of EC. 
• 2020: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change floated a draft EIA in 2020 for public comments.
  • The Indian regulatory system uses a graded approach, a differentiated risk management approach depending on whether a project is coming up within a protected region, however missed Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). 

Also read: Study finds most Himalayan birds migrate downslope

What are challenges with the Environmental Impact Assessment?

• Lack of National Level Regulator: There is no regulator and monitoring at the national level to carry out an independent, objective and transparent appraisal and approval of the projects for environmental impact assessments.
• Reactive Instead of Proactive: The EIA process reacts to development proposals rather than anticipate them. 
• Ignore Successive Impacts: It does not adequately consider cumulative impacts.
• Ignore Specific Characteristics: Despite all levels of government being acutely aware of the special needs of the IHR, the region’s vulnerabilities and fragility have not been considered separately. 

Environmental Impact Assessment: Points need to be Consider

• Sensitivity of the Region: While categorizing projects it is important that the impacts of all such projects and activities are seen in the context of  fragility and vulnerability of the Indian Himalayan regions. 
• Clearance at all Stages: The needs of these IHRs could be addressed at all four stages of the EIA — screening, scoping, public consultation, and appraisal.
• Specific Requirement: General conditions should be mandated for all projects about the IHR or mountains above a certain altitude.

Conclusion:

As both India’s graded approach and environmental impact assessment process lacks special needs of the IHR, it now should be the duty of policymakers to explore other tools such as the strategic environmental assessment which takes into account the cumulative impact of development in an area to address the needs of the IHR as a fundamental policy.