Lok Sabha Question No. 1211 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-11
Subject: Violation of Environmental Clearance Laws
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Gopal Chinayya Shetty

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 1211

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2023

## Violation of Environmental Clearance Laws

## 1211.   SHRI GOPAL CHINNAYA SHETTY:

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

- (a) whether a provision for financial penalty as well as imprisonment has been made for violation of Environmental Clearance Laws in the construction related projects;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether it is  a fact that the RTI activists are being given more importance than the public representatives in the case of Environmental Clearance in construction projects particularly in Mumbai Metropolitan; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a)  and  (b)  Section  15  of  the  Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986    on  'Penalty  for Contravention of the Provisions of the Act and the Rules, Orders and Directions' prescribes that whoever fails to comply with or contravenes any of the provisions of this Act, or the rules made  or  orders  or  directions  issued  thereunder,  shall,  in  respect  of  each  such  failure  or contravention, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or both, and in case the failure or contravention continues, with additional fine which may extend to five thousand rupees for every day during which such failure or contravention continues after the conviction for the first such failure or contravention. Further, if the failure or contravention referred above continues beyond a period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years.

In  addition  to  the  above,  provision  of  financial  penalty  and  punitive  penal  action  are  also prescribed in Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 at Section 37 to Section 46 and in Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 at Section 41 to Section 50 under 'Penalties and Procedure'.

Recently, with the passing of Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (Jan Vishwas Act)  the  provisions  of  financial  penalty  and  punitive  penal  action  under  Section  15  of  the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, as mentioned above, have been decriminalized along with higher  penalty  amount.  The  date  for  coming  into  force  of  the  Jan  Vishwas  Act  has  been designated as 1 st  April, 2024.

(c) and (d) All the proposals received for grant of Environment Clearance (EC) are dealt as per provisions of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. Upon submission of proposals  by  project  proponent,  complete  in  all  respects,  projects  are  appraised  by  Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) at central  level and by  State  Level EAC  at  State level as  per provision of EIA Notification, 2006 and its amendments. Based on the recommendation of EAC/SEAC, decision on grant /rejection of EC is taken by Ministry at Central level and by State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) at State level. The extant process of environmental appraisal and approval for projects including for construction projects is carried out through single window online PARIVESH portal which ensures that the entire process of clearances is done in transparent manner without compromising on rigor of the environmental concerns.

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