BHUBANESWAR: The Centre has sought a response from the state government pertaining to allegations of irregularity in reconstitution of the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) in Odisha.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in a letter to the secretary of Forest, Environment and Climate Change department recently sought a view from the government at the earliest for necessary action at its end.
The MoEFCC’s directive came on the basis of a petition filed by Aama Janata Adhikar, a citizens’ advocacy group working in different fields including environmental justice and transparent governance.
The group in its petition to the MoEFCC raised strong objection to the reconstitution of SEIAA and SEAC alleging that there have been multiple deliberate violation of MoEFCC guidelines in taking up reconstitution of these bodies.
Co-convenor of the forum Basudev Bhatt has alleged that not a single member from the previous SEIAA/SEAC has been retained, despite guidelines mandating the retention of at least 30 to 50 per cent of existing members for institutional memory and smooth transition.
He also raised the issue of conflict of interest alleging that at least seven to eight members of the new bodies, recommended by the state government, are serving employees of institutions like IIT Kharagpur (Odisha Campus), CET Bhubaneswar, IMMT Bhubaneswar, IIT Bhubaneswar and similar bodies that regularly undertake paid consultancy, structural safety reports, traffic impact studies and EIA vetting for project proponents.
“This creates a direct and unacceptable conflict of interest,” Bhatt alleged.
The forum also alleged violation of ‘Office of Profit’ claiming that all members are active government, academic or service personnel drawing full salary and benefits which amounts to holding an office of profit in contravention of Article 102(1)(a) of the Constitution of India and the EIA Notification, 2006. The charges also include ignoring preferences for retired experts as mandated in the guidelines.
The advocacy group alleged that concerns they have raised seriously compromise the independence, credibility and legality of the entire environmental clearance process in Odisha and expose every future EC to litigation and quashing.