CERTIFICATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE

What is Certificate of Environmental Clearance?

The Environmental Clearance Certificate is mandatory requirement for the project activities included in the Schedule of EIA. Environmental clearance is a procedure to get clearance from the government for certain projects which cause environmental pollution.
Government has made a list of projects which need an environmental clearance like mining, thermal power plants, infrastructure etc. The EIA Notification categorizes the projects into two categories, i.e. Category A and B. Projects falling under Category A get clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Category B will get their clearance from the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority.

Industrial projects located in any of the following notified ecologically fragile/sensitive areas would require environmental clearance irrespective of the type of project:

1. Religious and historic places
2. Archaeological monuments
3. Scenic areas
4. Hill resorts
5. Beach resorts
6. Coastal areas rich in mangroves, corals, breeding grounds of specific species
7. Estuaries
8. Gulf areas
9. Biosphere reserves
10. National parks and sanctuaries
11. National lakes and swamps
12. Seismic zones
13. Tribal settlements
14. Areas of scientific and geological interest
15. Defence installations, especially those of security importance and sensitive to pollution
16. Border areas (international)
17. Airports

Procedure to obtain Environmental Clearance Certificate-

1. Submission of an application in a prescribed application format either to the Ministry of Environment & Forest New Delhi (in case of Category A projects)or the Department of Environment & Forest of the respective State Government ( in case of Category B projects)
2. Approval of Terms of Reference for preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment Study report by concerned Authority
3. Preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment Study Report as per approved TOR (covering Environmental Quality Data of one full season other than Monsoon) only by the NABET accredited EIA Consultant
4. Public Hearing Process based on Environmental Impact Assessment Study Report prepared
5. Submission of Environmental Impact Assessment Study Report along with minutes of Public Hearing to concerned authority for final appraisal and issuance of ECC.
6. The anticipated duration for getting ECC is ranging between 6 months to 12 months.