THE route to a project's clearance or rejection is a tortuous one. Before it is finally tabled at an EAC meeting, an EIA report has to be supplemented by a number of 'no objection' certificates. The first hurdle are the state satraps like the state electricity boards and ground water boards. Approval granted, the project then proceeds for scrutiny by the state pollution control board, which paves the way for the project to appear before the Environment Ministry.
In the ministry, the EIA report is assessed by each member of the relevant EAC, which has to give its verdict within 90 days. Each month there are two meetings where about six-seven EIA documents are discussed. In these closed-door meetings, the project proponents parry questions from the committee. The committee then discusses the proceedings and prepares a list of recommendations. If the committee feels the EIA is satisfactory, it gives the green signal. Objections, if any, are conveyed to the project authorities, who then have to come back with their answers at the next meeting. If the project authorities do not receive any message from the EAC, they can safely assume that their project has been cleared.
