New Delhi, April 20: The Environment Ministry today instructed the state pollution control boards (SPCBs) to give adequate publicity about the public hearing procedures being conducted to assess eco-impact of proposed projects.
The move came following the Delhi High Court’s observation in a case last year that the ministry had taken the requirement of public hearing under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) lightly and it needed immediate correction.
As per the court’s suggestions, the Ministry has now asked the pollution watchdogs in various states to focus on adequate publicity by repeatedly bringing out notices to be spread over a sufficient period so as to cover maximum people.
Under the EIA notification 2006, public hearing is one of the mandatory requirements aiming to address the concerns of local affected people and others who have plausible stake in the environmental impacts of the project.
–Agencies