Non-Coal Mining Clearance Threshold Likely to Double to 500 Ha

New Delhi: The environment ministry has proposed to increase the appraisal threshold of non-coal mining projects from 250 hectares (ha) to 500 ha at the state level.

The step would help further decentralise the environment clearance process for such projects, the ministry said in a draft notification issued on July 27.

It also noted that state-level bodies - State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAA) and State Expert Appraisal Committees (SEAC) - already examine coal mining projects which are of up to 500 ha.

While the SEIAA grants environmental clearances, the SEAC advises it in appraising the project.

Under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, projects are categorised based on their size and potential impacts.

Category A projects are appraised by the Centre-level Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) and Category B projects by SEIAAs and SEACs.

The ministry's draft notification highlighted that the eligibility criteria, such as qualifications and experience, for experts nominated in the EACs and SEACs are identical.

"In this regard, it is a fact that equal level of expertise is available in the SEACs as compared to the EACs," said the draft notification.

It further noted that the SEIAAs have gained substantial experience over the past two decades in the EC appraisal process, and the Centre has also created two new standing bodies at the state and Union Territory levels.

Meant to expedite the green clearance process, these new bodies - Standing Authority on Environment Impact Assessment (SAEIA) and Standing Committee on Environment Impact Appraisal (SCEIA) - were notified on July 13.

They would assume the functions of SEIAAs and SEACs whenever these institutions become non-functional for more than one month due to the expiry of their tenure or delays in reconstitution, or a stay imposed on their functioning by a court.

Experts had raised concern over the criteria for selecting the members of the new standing bodies, arguing that it could lead to a weakened scrutiny of projects.

That is because, unlike in the case of the EAC and the state's SEIAA and SEAC under the EIA Notification, 2006, the chairpersons and all members of the new standing bodies do not need to have domain experience, such as being experts with 15 years of experience or a PhD in relevant fields.