Do the Environmental Approval Conditions Enable the Best Practice EIA Follow-up and Hence Strengthen the EIA System? An Indian Case Study Analysis

Abstract

The environmental approval for a project is generally granted with a set of terms and conditions to the project proponent. The environmental clearance (EC) letters for 33 infrastructure projects were examined for the relevance, adequacy, and enforceability of the EC conditions. Using the basic tenets of the EIA process, it is found that the long list of irrelevant, inadequate, and unenforceable conditions is greenwash and unsuited for best practice EIA follow-up, hence meeting the EIA objectives. The conditions should be directed at measuring the environmental performance of the project to catalyze achieving sustainability targets. The conditions for stringent supervision and frequent inspection of the site activities in the construction phase could help ensure the implementation of the proposed mitigation measures for infrastructure projects. A comprehensive environmental impact assessment framework may use the principles of the ABC analysis to prioritize the properly specified EC conditions, resource allocation, and stakeholder engagement for the best practice EIA follow-up and hence strengthen the EIA system.