Tenures of state-level green bodies end, clearances now from Centre

New Delhi
The three-year terms of two dedicated environmental bodies that provide clearances to projects in Delhi have ended, with clearances hereon to be issued by the Union environment ministry instead.
The tenures of the Delhi State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the Delhi State Level Appraisal Committee (SEAC), both formed in 2021, ended on September 5, officials aware of the matter said. A process to reconstitute the two bodies is yet to commence.
“On an interim basis, the committees of the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) will now be providing environmental clearances for projects in Delhi. Both the MoEFCC and the Delhi government can set up the new bodies, but the process is yet to start,” a member of the now-dissolved SEIAA said on condition of anonymity.
SEAC had three members and was headed by former Public Works Department (PWD) chief Sarvagya Kumar Srivastava. Delhi’s environment department special secretary KS Jayachandran and AAP’s Reena Gupta were also a part of it. SEIAA had 11 members, headed by chairman Vijay Garg.
A former SEAC official said that before 2021, central bodies of the MoEFCC were handling environmental clearances and the permission process will revert to the same until new bodies are formed.
“According to the rules, older members can also be roped in to constitute the new SEAC or SEIAA. Since September 5, there has been no movement in getting these bodies reappointed,” the official said, on the condition of anonymity.
Both state-level bodies are crucial in checking parameters for projects that may have environmental impacts. This includes ensuring a valid traffic assessment of a project, noise levels, buffer from ecologically sensitive sites, impact on air and water, and necessity for tree felling. For several projects, clearances were rejected till proposals were either amended or the number of trees that needed to be felled was reduced by the project proponent.