Workshop on environmental clearance held

A CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG, March 26: The State Level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Meghalaya and the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) on Saturday jointly organized an Interactive Workshop on ‘Environment Clearance Requirements’.

This interactive workshop was organized for the benefit of all Project Proponents who intend to apply for Environmental Clearance for their projects, operators of mine/quarry, interested individuals and organizations.

Around 250 stakeholders participated in the workshop from various parts of Meghalaya.

The aim of the workshop was to explain the requirements for getting Environment Clearance to the public in respect of various activities like mining of minor minerals, limestone, building projects, in simple and clear terms and to clarify their doubts.

Dr GV Subramaniam, Ex-advisor, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) and currently a member of the Expert Appraisal Committee of the MoEFCC, was invited as the main resource person to talk on the Environment Clearance Requirements.

D Sathiyan IFS, Secretary, SEIAA, Meghalaya gave a brief introduction to the Environmental Clearance requirements and also stated the objectives of the workshop.

CP Marak, IFS, Chairman, Meghalaya Pollution Control Board, explained the Environmental Clearance requirements in the context of Meghalaya.

Dr DT Kathing, Chairman of the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), and Toki Blah, Chairman, SEIAA, explained about the importance of getting Environmental Clearance before undertaking any development activities listed in the EIA notification 2006.