Central institute’s report backs concerns of activists, asks ministry to redo draft EIA notification 2020.
Weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown last March to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Indians were still trying to grapple with its impact on their lives and livelihood, the environment ministry went ahead and published the draft environment impact assessment notification 2020.
This was then followed by the ministry doing its utmost to hastily implement the drastic changes proposed in the draft, by reducing the legally mandated public consultations to a token exercise.
Despite the all-round pandemic-induced stupor, public outrage—which found reflection in a flood of over two million emails and letters from …
Akshay is an investigative reporter and former writer at The Morning Context. Based in Delhi, he writes about the environment, public policy and economy from the lens of the pulls and pressures of an ambitious democracy. Akshay uses the right to information extensively for reporting stories of vital public interest. Over the past decade and more, he has worked for HuffPost India, Frontline, The Economic Times, Down To Earth and DNA.
akshay@mailtmc.com