HYDERABAD: Telangana has no State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for almost six months, forcing more than 200 projects that require environmental clearance to be put on hold. Most of these are commercial and residential real estate development projects proposed around Hyderabad and non-coal mining projects for minor minerals like granite, laterite and sand from the districts.
It is mandatory that before taking up any project -- establishment of an industrial unit, mining of natural resources or real estate development -- the proponent of the project concerned should take prior environmental clearance as per the Environment Impact Assessment(EIA) Notification, 2006. If, as per the EIA notification, the project falls under ‘Category B’, the project is first scrutinised by the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) and then goes to the SEIAA which decides if the project has to be accorded environmental clearance or not.
The three-year term of Telangana SEIAA and SEAC came to an end in April and both the committees are yet to be reconstituted. While the State government’s environment department constituted the two committees last month, they are yet to be notified by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) and only after that can the two committees start functioning.
When contacted, Swargam Srinivas, special secretary (FAC) in the State environment department and member-secretary of former Telangana SEIAA, said, “The SEIAA has not been constituted yet. The tenure of last SEIAA came to end on April 24. Almost 200 to 300 project proposals awaiting environment clearance are pending.”About a month ago the list of new committee members was sent by State government to the central government which is yet to issue a gazette notification on the constitution of the committee,” he added.