SoP issues to deal with Environmental violations

The Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change ministry has brought an amnesty scheme for infrastructure and industrial projects that have violated environmental clearance norms. The standard operating procedure (SOP) laid out by the ministry in an office memorandum states that projects that don’t have prior environmental clearance (EC) should be closed and appraised afresh. People involved in all projects that violate environmental norms will also have to pay a penalty. According to the office memorandum, also has a provision for demolishing industries that were never eligible for environmental clearance because of their environmental footprint.

As per the new SOPs, projects that have expanded in capacity without requisite permissions will have to revert to older production limits until reassessed. If prior EC was not required for the project but is now required under updated norms, then the project will have to restrict its production to the extent to which prior EC was not required till appraised again. Only projects which are in complete violation of environmental norms and were never eligible for grant of environmental clearance shall be demolished or closed. For example, a highly polluting industry operating in an eco-sensitive coastal zone.

Projects that violate norms, but are “permissible”, will be assessed for the damage caused and a remediation plan developed. These projects will have to submit a bank guarantee equivalent to the remediation plan and a natural and community resource augmentation plan to the central or state pollution control boards. The bank guarantee will be released once the remediation plan is implemented. They will also have to pay penalty.  According to the office memorandum, the new scheme is a result of a National Green Tribunal order dated June 3, 2021 which said that “for past violations, the concerned authorities are free to take appropriate action in accordance with polluter pays principle, following due process.”