Covid has impacted our country not only in terms of loss of lives but livelihoods too. This falls a heavy imperative on the State apparatus to fix all that has gone wrong. But that again needs stress on its ever-depleting resources.
The virus took birth in Wuhan city of China and travelled to more than 160 countries toppling their economies in every way possible.
Its India, for now, seems impacted though not largely. Yet a developing country, responsible to feed world’s second largest population and to save fading lives, is facing its own fear. The GDP growth has fallen to 4.7% in third quarter of 2020.
Although, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) suggested the RBI to reduce repo and cash reserve ratio, both upto 50 basis points but RBI has its own limitations pertaining to another threat called Inflation.
Industries and Impact:
Only a few industries could benefit from novel coronavirus like pharmaceuticals, healthcare and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). The others like Hotel, real estate, automobiles including the 8 core Industries have suffered huge setback from this pandemic.
The Government has tried it all: from Corporate tax rate cuts to Atmanirbhar Bharat drive, all measures to boost the staggered Indian Industry. But we shall be wary of these desperate attempts, that they may not trigger an unwanted effect especially an Environmental imbalance.
Just when the newly drafted EIA amendment was not enough intimidating towards Environmental protection, The Environment ministry (MOEFCC) has allowed companies indulged in several industries, including some of the core polluting ones, to expand their capacities on the basis of a self-certification professed by them.
Undertaking, trust and Apprehensions:
An undertaking by an Industry that any of its activity will not “increase the pollution load” has a great potential for misdeclaration (and misuse), especially in light of an inherent, traditionally poor monitoring regime that smothers transparency so often.
The certification needs to be submitted on Ministry’s Parivesh website, where there is a questionnaire along with the stated Undertaking and the provisions for uploading required documents.
MOEFCC also notifies that the Centre deems it necessary to permit an increased capacity in processing, production and manufacturing sector with or without any change in raw material-mix or product-mix or any change in configuration of the plant, without the requirement of prior environmental clearance, provided that there is no increase in pollution load.
Environmental clearance acts as extra layer of protection and check on the project to ascertain and estimate its impact on Environment.
It may allow industries covered in the schedule to the EIA notification 2006 such as coal washing, fertilizers, mineral processing, pesticides, synthetic chemicals(paint), cement, petrochemicals, sugar etc having a significant environmental footprint, to go off the hook and operate as per their own terms.
Why such a risky move?
As per the Ministry, it has received several requests from Companies involved in processing, production and the manufacturing sector to permit an increase in production capacity without the need for entire environmental clearance process again.
This may save some time but there is a bigger concern looming us all: a threat to already ailing Planet, a reversal to all the climate action and severe blow to the safeguards against polluting industries.
Checks and Balances: In case upon verification by the CPCB or SPCB and even after proper hearing of the project proponent, if the authority holds such expansion or modernization to contribute to pollution, the exemption claimed under the clause shall become invalid.
Also, such an exemption will also work if the industry installs Online Continuous Monitoring System (OCMS) with at least 95% uptime, connected to the Monitoring servers of the CPCB or SPCBs.
How has the exception been till now?
According to the 2016 and 2020 EIA amendments, there is a principle of “no increase in pollution load” and consequent exemption from undergoing through environment clearance process if resultant increase of production capacity was less than 50% overall.
The new notification allows any amount of expansion to any Industry that is ready to make a promise, a promise difficult to detect and easy to break. Sabotaging the Environment in the long run will anyhow sabotage Human lives too.