Summary:
New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) The Ministry of Environment on Monday introduced a new system of ranking the State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs), which have been delegated powers to consider and grant environmental clearance.
The ranking system, whose criteria include the time taken for giving clearance, has been introduced to encourage efficiency, transparency and accountability in the functioning of SEIAAs without diluting any regulatory safeguards, according to the ministry.
It is based on the provisions of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2006 and various guidelines issued by the ministry from time to time.
However, there is no negative marking proposed for not meeting the criteria for ranking, the ministry said in a statement.
There are seven criteria for ranking the SEIAA one of which is the average number of days for granting environmental clearance (EC).
The EIA Notification provides a time period of 105 days for granting EC which includes 60 days for appraisal and 45 days for decision by the regulatory authority.