Subject Group on Administrative And Legal Simplifications

Report on
Implementable Action Plans in the area of
Administrative and Legal Simplifications.

During the course of its deliberation with various associations and individuals, the Task Force gathered that there was a conscious effort to conform to the various legislation relating to environment, air and water pollution. Industry representatives however expressed the view that the Government is implementing the environment laws in fits and bouts. The implementation goes on an overdrive when the Supreme Court makes certain observations while disposing off a public interest litigation. Subsequently, the momentum slackens and people who flout the norms resume their nefarious activities. The only group that is targeted for harassment is the organised sector. It is a fact that some industries have installed state-of-the-art equipment to check air and water pollution, as also for effluent treatment and many more are in the process of doing so. Some of the industries which are set up in the vicinity of forest area have also undertaken afforestation.

The one factor which inhibits faster growth of industries is the protracted procedures involved in getting environmental clearance both at the Centre and the State levels. There are no clear guidelines as to what needs to be cleared at the State level without having to go back to the Centre and what approval from the Centre would be adequate and binding on the State authorities.

Environmental Impact Assessment

In the opinion of the industry an environmental impact assessment study even when conducted by agencies known for their expertise in that field, is not accepted, and is subjected to lot of scrutiny and enquiries. It is therefore necessary for the Government to set out a procedure whereby corporates of good standing (viz., which have a track record of being good corporate citizens and of good report with regard to compliance with environmental laws and regulations) are allowed to set up industries on the basis of the report from such agencies and any remedial measure can be implemented during the time the project is being implemented. This will help prevent delays and cost over runs in setting up new projects.

Compensatory Afforestation – National Forest Fund

When projects are set up in areas which have been classified as Forest areas, the industry is required to acquire a corresponding area of land for afforestation. This provision though on the face of it laudable, is in fact impractical. More often than not, the land which is acquired by the industry to compensate for the forest land will not be contiguous with the existing forest area, but will be in an area far from the forest and it may well be infertile to be able to undertake afforestation.

The Task Force had meaningful dialogue with Ministry of Environment and Forest and the ministry was not averse to the Task Force’s thinking that a National Forest Fund should be created, whereby the industry which is setting up a project in a forest area should contribute to the fund. Such an amount as would relate to the cost of the land as also the cost of afforestation. This will enable the Central Government to effectively utilise the fund for afforestation in any part of the country, particularly where forest resources are fast depleting. The Task Force is given to understand that only Central PSUs are now being allowed to pay the Forest Department for aforestation, in case of acquisition of forest land.

The Task Force therefore strongly recommends the creation of a National Forest Fund which will obviate the need to go through a long drawn procedure for acquiring land for compensating for the forest land. The Task Force also strongly recommends that the Ministry of Environment and Forest simplifies the formats for environmental clearance, limit public hearing to only hazardous industries, prepare a list of accredited consultants whose findings should be automatically accepted and in course of time facilitate ratings by international authorities like ISO 14001 and 14002 which have not been considered so far by the MOEF.

Multiple Clearances and Vicious Circles

The Task Force also strongly recommends that the present practice of giving separate consents for Air, water and hazardous waste on an annual basis should be changed to a composite approval valid for at least 5 years and periodic checks can be carried out to ensure compliance of the terms of the approval. This will avoid duplication of work by industry as also the pollution control boards.

The Task force has observed that in many States consent from the State Pollution Control Board to operate a manufacturing unit, is a pre-requisite, for activities such as land allocation and provision of electricity connections from the State Electricity Board. In the case of large industrial units, various plants within the same complex start operations at different points of time. Non-availability of power for want of an environmental clearance to operate, is clearly counter-productive. The Pollution Control Board does not provide operational approval without start of plants and the plant cannot be started without electricity. Hence the NOC for site allocation obtained from the concerned Pollution Control Board, should be sufficient for all activities, right up to the start of trial commercial production from the manufacturing unit.

Environmental Clearance for Infrastructure Projects Being Bid

In the case of various infrastructure projects, this Task Force recommends that whenever the Government decides to invite private participation in setting up of infrastructure projects it should have completed the entire environmental assessment and kept in readiness, the report which can be given to the bidders and the successful bidder should be asked to pay the reasonable cost incurred by the Government for having conducted such a study. This will not only drastically cut down the delay in implementing the project but also allow the bidder to understand and appreciate the environmental issues involved in implementing the project.

Similarly, in the case of privatisation of expressways and other public facilities, the concerned Governmental agency should initiate the process of acquisition of land ahead of the bidding process. This will enable the prospective bidders to arrive at a realistic project cost and help speedy implementation of the project.