Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has finally made clear its stand on the amendment to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Act. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that the state government does not agree with many of the points which have been raised in the draft EIA Act.
The government announced its decision on the last day to submit the state's opinion on the draft Act.
"The draft Environmental Impact Assessment notification will have far-reaching and adverse effects on our State and a final decision should only be reached after more effective discussions with all parties concerned," Vijayan said.
The state is concerned about the changes mainly related to the mining/quarrying permits.
In the case of B1 medium category, environmental clearance is required for permitting mining/quarrying in an area exceeding five hectares to one hundred hectares.
Kerala wants the lower limit to be brought down from five hectares to be two hectares. That is, environmental clearance should be required when mining/quarrying activities are permitted on more than two hectares.
The existing norms will continue for small quarries of less than two hectares.
Similarly, Kerala has also expressed concern over the reduction in the time allowed for public hearings before approving projects to 20 days in the new draft notification,Vijayan said. The state wants it to be retained at the earlier 30 days. Such a short period of time is not enough in many places,according to the state government.
The District Environmental Impact Assessment Committees were the system for conducting detailed inspections before approving small projects.
Apart from this, these district-level committees play a crucial role in handling applications at the state level. These committees are being exempted from the EIA draft notification. Kerala wants to retain the district level committees.
(With inputs from agencies)
