NEW DELHI: The Left parties opposed the draft environment impact assessment (EIA) notification on Monday, alleging that it is a move to dilute the norms governing the environment clearance process for industrial projects.
The draft EIA notification has drawn flak from environmentalists, students and NGOs across the country, who have also opposed its alleged dilution.
"Amending laws to facilitate profit maximisation by private capital, both foreign and domestic, by looting India's mineral wealth undermines India's self-reliance, exposing the hollowness of Modi's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.
"Oppose the move to dilute the EIA. Oppose re-categorization of projects and avoiding public scrutiny.
Post facto legalising the project violations means giving assent to wrongdoings. Overriding tribal laws and the rights of the adivasis and dalits will be resisted," CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said in a tweet.
In a detailed statement, Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Benoy Viswam opposed the move and said it is not only undemocratic and non-consultative, but also an abuse of the powers granted under the Environment (Protection) Act.
He alleged that the draft itself seeks to fundamentally alter the safeguards imposed on industrial projects under the garb of "transparency" and "efficiency".
Viswam said the key exemptions under the proposed draft include the need for an appraisal by an expert committee, a reduced frequency of compliance reporting post-clearance and the removal of public consultation, which were all components of the previous EIA.
"Under the new draft, projects already operating in violation of the Environment Act can post-facto apply for clearance.
This is a disastrous proposition and the recent past is littered with examples of the devastation caused by such projects.
"In its eagerness to satisfy industrialists and foreign capital, the government is once again willing to forgo the interests of its own people and the environment," the Left leader alleged.