Six months after it was proposed, the National Environment Assessment and Monitoring Authority (NEAMA) may finally see the light of the day. NEAMA, which promises to revamp the environment clearance process, is likely to be implemented this year.
Senior officials in the Environment Ministry held a meeting on Monday to discuss the modalities of setting up the authority. They are again expected to meet tomorrow to discuss ways on how to make the body autonomous.
Although NEAMA can grant initial approvals, the authority to give final clearance will rest with the Ministry of Environment and Forests. An official pointed out that for practical reasons, NEAMA would remain intricately linked with the ministry for jurisdiction, mandate, funding and reporting.
NEAMA was proposed last November. But its structure and guidelines are yet to be chalked out. Once operational, NEAMA would grant environmental approvals for projects and monitor them thereafter.
With the increasing number of infrastructure projects coming up for clearance, the MoEF had earlier indicated it did not have the capacity to monitor projects that had been granted green clearances. The grant of clearances under the Environment Impact Assessment notification, 2006, is an important requirement for industrial and infrastructure projects.
