Category B projects are local building and constructions, small-scale mining, and minor industrial units that have localised environmental impact.
Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Assam government has constituted the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), strengthening the institutional framework for evaluating projects requiring environmental clearance for Category B developmental and industrial projects within the state.
The constitution of the two statutory bodies follows a notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on October 6.
Category B projects are local building and constructions, small-scale mining, and minor industrial units that have localised environmental impact.
Both bodies will have a tenure of four years from the date of publication of the central government notification in the Official Gazette.
The SEIAA will be responsible for making decisions on environmental clearance applications based on recommendations of the SEAC.
For Assam, the expert panels come at a time when the state is seeing a push for infrastructure, constructions, and other development projects.
The functioning of the new panels will therefore be important in determining how development is balanced with concerns relating to forest, rivers, wildlife and local communities.
They will exercise powers and follow procedures prescribed under the relevant government notification.
While Shyamanta Bezbarua, retired former secretary of the Assam Public Works Department (Building and National Highway), has been appointed chairman of the SEIAA, Dr Socindra Kumar Borthakur, retired professor of the Department of Botany at Gauhati University, will serve as a member. The secretary of the Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Department will function as member secretary of the authority.
The SEAC will be headed by Jatindra Sarma, former chief conservator of forests and field director of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.
Its members include Prof Parthankar Choudhury of Assam University, Silchar; Dr Rahul Mahanta of Cotton University; environmentalist Dr Arup Barpujary; Dr Arup Kumar Sarma of IIT Guwahati; Dr Bhagwat Pran Duwarah of Gauhati University; and Dr Narayan Sharma of Cotton University. The member secretary of the Assam Pollution Control Board will serve as member secretary of the SEAC.
The expert panel will function on the principle of collective responsibility. Its chairman will seek consensus while considering individual cases, with the majority view prevailing if consensus cannot be reached.
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