Lok Sabha Question No. 2 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-04
Subject: Expert Appraisal Committee
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Deepak Baij, Abdul Khaleque

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 2

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.12.2023

## Expert Appraisal Committee

- *2. SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ:

SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether an Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry has been constituted recently;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the composition thereof;
- (c) the details of the criteria adopted for the constitution of said EAC;
- (d) whether any conflict of interest has been reported in appointment of advisors to EAC of Ministry;
- (e) if so, the inquiry initiated and remedial action taken in this regard; and
- (f) the details of the projects cleared by the said committee so far?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BHUPENDER YADAV)

- (a) to (f): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (f)  OF  THE  LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 2 RAISED BY SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ AND SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE REGARDING EXPERT APPRAISAL COMMITTEE DUE FOR REPLY ON 04.12.2023.

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(a)  to  (c)  The  Expert  Appraisal  Committee (EAC) is a multi-disciplinary  sectoral appraisal committee comprising of various subject matter experts for screening, scoping and appraisal of Projects / Activities specified under the EIA Notification, 2006, as amended. There are nine EACs at the Central level which have been constituted for appraisal of different categories of projects  viz.  Thermal  &  Coal  Mining,  Non-coal  Mining,  Infrastructure,  Industries,  River Valley and Hydro-electric Projects and Nuclear, Strategic & Defence. These committees are reconstituted  after  every  three  years  with  maximum  15  members  as  per  the  provisions  of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2006, as amended, provided that wherever considered necessary and expedient, the Central Government may extend the term for a further period not exceeding twelve months. Recently, the River Valley and Hydro-electric Projects (RVHEP), Thermal & Coal Mining sector, Infra 1 & Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) sector and Industry 3 sector have been re-constituted following due process.

The EACs comprise Experts as per the provisions prescribed under Appendix VI of the EIA, Notification,  2006.  The  composition  of  all  EACs  is  available  in  the  public  domain  on PARIVESH portal of the Ministry.

(d) to (f) EAC is mainly a recommendatory body and the decision of EAC is taken by consensus on the principles of collective responsibility. At central level, decision regarding clearing of Projects / Activities are taken by the Ministry taking into account the recommendation of EAC. As part of the due diligence during reconstitution of EACs, No-Conflict of interest certificates are  also  obtained  from  the  expert  members  after  their  selection  has  been  approved  by  the competent  authority  based  on  their  expertise  in  relevant  field.  The  selected  members  are expected to disclose clearly if there is any conflict of interest between their role as member of EAC and their current assignment. Wrong disclosure on their part may make them ineligible for membership of the EAC and further lead to their removal from the concerned Committee.

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