Role of Public Hearing in the EIA Process | Environmental Impact Assessment | Enterclimate

As we know, #public #hearing, also known as Public consultation, refers to the process by which the local people's concerns regarding a project's adverse impacts are ascertained and taken into account in the #EIA study. This concept was legally introduced in India as a 'public hearing' in 1997. Since then, this stage Public Hearing plays an essential role by providing a stage for the locals to voice their concerns with the project proponent and the monitoring agencies.
Let's start by understanding the process of How Public Hearing is Conducted).
The applicant requests a simple letter to the Member Secretary of the SPCB or Pollution Control Committee,in whose jurisdiction the project is located, to arrange the public hearing within the prescribed statutory period.
In case the project site covers more than one District or State or Union Territory, the public hearing is mandated in each District, State or Union Territory in which the project is located, and the applicant makes separate requests to each concerned SPCB or PCC for holding the public hearing as per this procedure.
A letter of request and hard copies of the draft EIA Report along with the Summary EIA report must be submitted to the following authorities or offices within whose jurisdiction the project will be located:
(a) District Magistrate/District Collector/Deputy Commissioner/s
(b) ZilaParishad or Municipal Corporation or Panchayats Union
(c) District Industries Office
(d) Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) / PRIs Concerned/Development Authorities
(e) Concerned Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment and Forests
Announcement of Public Hearing
The authorities will arrange to widely publicize the information of Public hearings within their respective jurisdictions requesting that interested persons send their comments to the concerned regulatory authorities.
The SPCB or PCC concerned shall also make similar arrangements for giving publicity 'about the project. Also, The Member-Secretary of the concerned SPCB or UTPCC shall finalize the date, time and exact venue for the conduct of the public hearing within 7 (seven) days of the date of receipt of the draft Environmental Impact Assessment report.
• Invitation of Suggestions : The public has 30 days to provide written suggestions, views, comments, and objections to the SPCB. The public can access the executive summary of the project's salient features in the local language and English and the EIA report, which can be obtained from various departments.
Formation of Hearing Panel: The SPCB forms a public hearing panel that includes representatives from SPCB, the district collector or their nominee, state government representatives dealing with the project, up to three representatives of the local Panchayat/municipality, and up to three senior citizens nominated by the district collector.
Conduct of Public Hearing : Persons present at the venue shall be granted the opportunity to seek information or clarifications on the project from the applicant.
The process is completed within a period of forty-five days from the date of receipt of the request letter from the applicant. After the public hearing, the project developer will receive a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the SPCB and then proceed with the application for environmental clearance.
As we reach the end of today's video, for those who are in between the EC process or those looking for EIA Consultants, we will now look at the Role of Consultants in the public hearing process.
As Consultants are responsible for identifying and assessing potential environmental impacts and proposing measures to mitigate those impacts, hiring seasoned consultants with a proven record in conducting public hearings or EIA report presentation
• Consultants Assist in preparing the public hearing notice and executive summary of the EIA report.
• They provide important information Resolution of queries related to the EIA report and any suspected environmental impacts.
• Consultants are responsible for compiling and Addressing concerns or objections raised during the public hearing and making necessary revisions to the EIA report.
Now how effectively the consultants manage their role during the hearing becomes crucial in the Environmental clearance process. A project proponent must only place their trust in experienced and certified consultants for this important role.
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