The 1995 amendment to the 1986 Environmental Protection Act mandates and specifies a procedure for conducting public hearings to take consent from community for starting any environmentally polluting activity. I am looking for an analysis and assessment of the actual practice of this procedure that attempts at incorporating the principles of public participation and public consent for the establishment and operation of environmentally problematic economic activities.
Public hearing during EIA process is in practice not in India only but other countries also. The locality where project to be implemented is under the familiarity of the local communities. All local people are attached in the natural environment and concern for new project intervention is highly associated with them. Avoiding local communities we cant start our development work at that place. So public hearing is required and mandate under the legal requirement. All issues of the public can be addressed in the EIA process for environmental sustainability. Economic cost, cost benefit and peoples welfare are concerning issues of the process.
Now a days not only for environmentally sensitive areas, even in other areas, because of media sensitivity, any major developmental work requires/demands public debate, discussion and public participation, for successful implementation and sustainability of the project objectives. I have seen this happening in Lakshadweep for roof top rain water harvesting; in Kerala for rural water supply scheme under a world bank funded project
You would need to access records with Ministry of Environment & Forests of the Government of India. Ready to use compiled information will not be available, but you can apply under RTI for the general information, and then ask copies of Transcripts of Public Hearings of specific projects.
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