Tenures of state-level green bodies end, clearances now from Centre

The tenures of the Delhi State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the Delhi State Level Appraisal Committee (SEAC), both formed in 2021, ended on September 5

Updated on: Sep 17, 2024, 05:22:19 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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New Delhi

Tree felling is a major part of environmental clearance requests in Delhi-NCR. (Photo for representation)

The three-year terms of two dedicated environmental bodies that provide clearances to projects in Delhi have ended, with clearances hereon to be issued by the Union environment ministry instead.

The tenures of the Delhi State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the Delhi State Level Appraisal Committee (SEAC), both formed in 2021, ended on September 5, officials aware of the matter said. A process to reconstitute the two bodies is yet to commence.

“On an interim basis, the committees of the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) will now be providing environmental clearances for projects in Delhi. Both the MoEFCC and the Delhi government can set up the new bodies, but the process is yet to start,” a member of the now-dissolved SEIAA said on condition of anonymity.

SEAC had three members and was headed by former Public Works Department (PWD) chief Sarvagya Kumar Srivastava. Delhi’s environment department special secretary KS Jayachandran and AAP’s Reena Gupta were also a part of it. SEIAA had 11 members, headed by chairman Vijay Garg.

A former SEAC official said that before 2021, central bodies of the MoEFCC were handling environmental clearances and the permission process will revert to the same until new bodies are formed.

“According to the rules, older members can also be roped in to constitute the new SEAC or SEIAA. Since September 5, there has been no movement in getting these bodies reappointed,” the official said, on the condition of anonymity.

Both state-level bodies are crucial in checking parameters for projects that may have environmental impacts. This includes ensuring a valid traffic assessment of a project, noise levels, buffer from ecologically sensitive sites, impact on air and water, and necessity for tree felling. For several projects, clearances were rejected till proposals were either amended or the number of trees that needed to be felled was reduced by the project proponent.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More