Environmental Clearance, Not Infrastructure, Holds Up More Than A Thousand Projects In Gujarat

The delay in the state has been due to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), or rather the lack of one. The Centre is yet to constitute a new committee to look into the applications and this has led to the hold up in issuing Environmental Clearance (EC) certificates. 

This in turn has resulted in a large number of project applications flooding the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC).

In Gujarat, any construction, mining activity, or chemical industry requires an EC certificate to start work. The EC application process has four stages: screening, scoping, public consultation, and appraisal. 

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) grants EC certificates through the SEIAA in three categories: construction, chemicals, and mining. Projects cannot begin work without an EC certificate, and if they do, strict action is taken against violators. 

After the SEIAA's term expired on August 12, 2024, the Centre did not appoint a new authority, halting the issuing of the certificates. 

The SEAC reviews applications, examines associated presentations, and conducts other necessary procedures before forwarding its recommendations to the SEIAA for final clearance.

The last SEIAA was chaired by H.K. Das (Retd IAS), with Dr Vijay Srivastava (Vice Chancellor, M. S. University) and Asav Gadhvi (Director, Environment Department of Gujarat Government) as members. It was appointed for a three-year term on August 13, 2021.

Ideally, the MoEFCC should have appointed a new committee before the term of the Das Committee expired, but with no appointments made even after a month, projects have stalled. 

Projects that come under certain categories now have to apply directly to the Centre, while applications for the rest must be processed by the SEAC. The situation has worsened due to a surge in industrial projects seeking EC approval in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot. 

Further, the SEAC's limited capacity and staff strength restrict the number of applications and presentations it can handle per day, resulting in more delays.

Similarly, the Gujarat Government Housing Board has emphasised redevelopment over the past year. It is focusing on demolishing old societies in cities such as Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat to build new complexes. 

Residents of these societies are to get new houses without any extra cost, but the delay in obtaining EC certificates has held up their plans.

Developers, on the other hand, are facing substantial financial losses because of the delays. They have already paid crores in premiums to the Housing Board and invested significant capital in the new projects, which seem to be indefinitely frozen.