India, rather each state in India is extensively involved in the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment).Everyday new consultants are cropping up which promise best quality reports.
Definitely, the reports are of the best quality..no doubt over it. It is good to have the development in terms of Industrial setup but at the same time the sustenance of the ecosystem is also important.
The EIA reports in India are restricted to Government mandates.But is there real science involved in these reports which supports the ecological sustainability? Very often the project site is already pre-decorated in the project format before the EIA is given to consultants.For example, mangrove is already destroyed before any EIA is conducted for port development.Similarly, trees are already felled before the EIA is done in forests. What report can a consultant give for barren land, everyone knows there will not be any adverse effects of using that land.
How will we know the truth and even if the EIA report has quality, will it help Mother Earth to sustain the consequences?
It is a big question and we hope Indian Scientist/EIA specialists have an answer since India is still very rich in Biodiversity.
Replies
Mrs. Deshpande....At the onset, I must congratulate you for raising such an important issue. Cropping up of new EIA consultants is a good news, but equally important is their quality, strength & ethics. However, a consultant can neither create any significant change in positive nor in negative sides, so far EIA is concerned. The Govt., legal system and individuals like you - need to come forward. Having said this, I directly question the NABET accreditation system developed by Govt. It really needs a complete revamping. Secondly, the age old system of expert appraisal committee members also need a change with the dynamics.
S K Mishra (ecomedia.co.in)
Ok here everyone is saying that Indian EIA reports are unscientific, copy- paste, unethical…… bla… bla…… I would like to add one more thing in this debate- suppose EIA consultant worked hard, derived the 100% facts of the study area, collected, collated & analyzed the primary data with the help of state of art technology delivered out of the world class EIA report & recommended absolute safeguard, mitigation measures…...Do you think the current MoEF institutional mechanism can implement the recommendations?? So preparing only scientific, ethical… world class EIA Report & their recommendations will not work until or unless it is align with world class institutional driving & monitoring mechanism.
Genuine conern!
Wise consultants advise the clients to destroy the evidence in advance: wetlands are reclaimed, old houses are relocated to CRZ, aquatic ecology is ignored. Photographs of the site are taken after destroying the evidence.
"Indian Consultants" operating in India are sufficiently knowledgeable and sufficiently manipulative to save the PPs. EACs have never looked in to the reliability of measurements, and we can argue that it is not their concern. River water quality is presented without description of sampling site and weather conditions in the immediate past. Not because our people are ignorant, but the system does not demand it. Revamp the system and its operational style.
This whole concept of EIA is a farce in India. Agreeing with anil sir, it has become just another way to earn good money for the various consultancies. But they forget that it requires a highly scientific mind and analytical approach to do such kind of studies. Its not a simple game of collecting data and monitoring. I had been associated with one of Delhi University's research centre which was one of the pioneers in EIA studies. It still conducts such studies in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. But who cares about such scientific EIA studies...atleast not our government.
It really doesn't matters whether the project proponent or the govn pays to conduct the EIA or if its done by an independent body. It is very very easy to get your project passed- you simply have to cough up a hefty amount to the committee responsible for passing your project. Thats it....it wouldn't even matter if your EIA report isn't upto the mark...you just have to pay the money. And if you aren't that rich then either count your blessings or really make your report strong enough which can't be ignored. But that seldom happens in our country.
Unless this under-table phenomenon is cured no kind of policy or any notification can be successful in t his country!!
Munmun I agree with you, we need a serious introspection, a re-work on our science and education philosophies rathar than just copying and imitating others. EIA has to be understood and realised as science and subject of study as well.
Maam,
This concept of copy- paste itself is the culprit as the western countries atleast do some sort of science. That is why being responsible for most of the pollution around the world, u wont find even a piece of paper on their roads. Indians have lost their thinking power and have become slaves. Apologizing if i hurt anyones feelings but in real sense, it is now that we have become the slaves of the western culture,following blindly. Atleast before freedom fight we were forced to follow and now we willingly follow :-)
Our former environment minster during his tanure quoted something about the EIA which I am not going repeat again.
As a matter of fact EIA/EMP studies are time bound and within one year if all the seasons are covered than report must be ready.In our country due many reasons organisation which are doing EIA/EMP have no field base personal who can deliver good results.Usually after single visit and with help of DPR/PFR reports are produced which is really unfortunate.Some organisation produce the report based on secondary informations.Some how it become a business.Long back in 1987 I had oppurtuinty to survey the Gori Ganga valley upto Milam Galcier during that period there were no clear cut provision of Impact assessment eventhough reports were produced well.Later on we copied down the provision of EIA/EMP from weatern countries.
EIA science in India has never been established in ecology and by ecologists nor by civil engineering, but the professional benefits have been well taken by business community engaged in liasion and consultancy/facilitation job. EIA in US was introduced in 1969 with USEPA whereas Govt of India too a long a notified EIA requirement in 1994 and that with lots of flaws, if and buts and with every year lots of withdrawal/changes and amendments in unpredictable directions.
What Govt does is upto Govt and depends upon the public perception and pressure on policy makers. However, what ecological and scientific community can do shall be done without any further delay. There are count on fingers EIA is well taught in environmental science schools in Universities and colleges in India, just notes are provided and some material downloaded and exams are written.
It is high time we introduce Masters and Diploma courses in EIA and also in EIA & Disaster Management at University level and specilization at MSc environmental sciences/ecology. University of East Anglia, University of Bradford and so many others have full EIA courses at MSc level started in 1990s or so. Why we didnt learn anythong from our own past and from the experiences and initiatives of others, none other than us are faulty.
Ecologists and scientists have been treating EIA most often as untouchable as it doesnt easilty yields in high impact factor journal publications due to its being highly interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional and sectoral and nature. Real EIA is not that easy as is done by these consultants and liasion firms. It needs, science, it needs coordinated efforts, it needs correct perception and understanding of science.
I greet on the initiative of this discussion and hope it yields some impact
Best regards
AK Gupta
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next