No Green Nod Needed For Construction On 20,000-50,000 Sqm Plot

Construction in areas between 20,000-50,000 square metre (sqm) will not require environment clearance from the government anymore, the Centre has said in a modified notification on the environment impact assessment (EIA). Under the existing rules, projects with a built-up area of up to 20,000 sqm do not have to apply for a green clearance.

In a recently issued notification, the environment has stated that it has decided to re-engineer EIA rules, based on the amendments in the rules and its experience in the past.

"As the principal notification has undergone substantial changes over the years, the ministry has decided to re-engineer the entire notification in line with the amendments issued...and circulars issued from time to time and experience gained over the years in implementation of the EIA notification," it said.

The move is likely to benefit real estate developers since housing projects often get stuck at the environment clearance level, leading to long delays. Now, developers of such projects would only have to submit self-declaration to urban-local bodies, stating green norms were being followed while building the project, by and large. This would ensure they are able to deliver projects within pre-set timeline.

Under the new notification, the process of clearances granted for sand mining and construction activities have been eased out, a decision that has not gone down well with environmental activists, who claim that the EIA notification compromises public hearings.

The draft allows district-level authorities, headed by the district magistrate, to seek exemption from public hearing while granting green clearance for sand mining in areas up to five hectares of land.

Environmentalists say that through the notification, the government is trying to give benefit to builders and mining companies, weakening the EIA.

The EIA is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.

With inputs from Housing News