Environmental Laws and Their Compliance in Road Projects

Abstract

There is a huge gap between the growth and demand of the road and highway sector in India. This sector carries a large percentage of freight and passengers. Before commencement of the project, obtaining environmental clearance (EC), forest clearance (FC), wildlife clearance, and coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) clearance (if required) is a necessity. Laws for environmental impact assessment study with mitigation measures and rules dealing with forest and wildlife clearance are in place. EC is granted in two stages. The second-stage approval is granted only after compliance of the conditions stipulated by the project proponents while granting Stage I approval. The paper attempts to identify the inactions that result in noncompliance with environmental laws and the reasons behind them. The methodology comprised a study of the literature followed by case studies of 12 road projects for identifying the conditions that are not complied with and the reasons for that. Finally, semistructured interviews were conducted for validation of findings. Since July 2014, the complete procedure of approval has gone online, resulting in reduction of time for granting EC from around 600 to 700 days to an average of 140 days. When the issues were discussed with experts they expressed difficulties in monitoring compliance with these conditions due to understaffing of trained personnel and nonavailability of adequate funds. The granting of EC and land acquisition both involve public hearings and therefore it has been recommended they be processed and carried out under a single window system.