HYDERABAD: For the past ten months, the environmental clearances for major industrial and real estate projects in Telangana are stuck in limbo as state-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) are not formed. SEIAA and SEAC term was over on April 30, 2018, and the last meeting was held on April 21. On an average, the committee holds two meetings every month and clears at least 40 to 50 applications in every meeting. Swargam Srinivas, special secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) told TOI: “Around 300 applications are pending and most are related to real estate projects, minor minerals mining leases and pharma companies. The committee formation is delayed due to polls.”According to MoEF notification, ‘A’ category projects require environment clearance from the Centre and ‘B’ category projects from SEIAA after recommendation from SEAC.Telangana Pollution Control Board member secretary P Satyanarayan Reddy told TOI, “SEIAA and SEAC are independent bodies and not linked to PCB. Both panels are formed by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests based on the recommendation of panel members from state government. After three-year term of committees is over, the state government had written to the Centre asking for an extension of six months. MoEF replied that there is no provision of extension. The state government has to send fresh proposals to the Centre for the committees to be notified.” He added, “There is no bar on the project proponents approaching MoEF committee for clearances of B category projects.”SEAC consists of 15 experts from forest, pharma, chemistry, wildlife , geology, mining and other departments.An expert scientist member of SEAC told TOI, “We have come to know that the old panel has been selected again and will be be sent to the Centre.Four to five months ago, Intelligence officials had conducted an enquiry regarding the antecedents of old panel members.”He added, “The committee was given office space in PCB building. A few hundred applications would have been pending. Based on the recommendation of SEAC, the assessment author headed committee, comprising of IAS and IFS officials issues environmental clearance.”

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