Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental Impact Assessment
1.
Introduction
The EIA involves determining the current status of the baseline environment and
identifying impact of proposed activities on it. Based on this an Environmental
Management Plan (EMP) is drawn to ensure mitigation planning and impact
monitoring.
Historically EIA is associated with industrial projects. However in the last decade due
to significant development of infrastructure projects including construction projects as
large residential colonies, entertainment complexes, the scope of EIA has therefore
been extended to include such projects also.
The idea of sustainability, or ecological development, is to ensure that our actions and
decisions today do not take toll on the prospects of future generations.
Energy efficiency over the entire life cycle of a building is the single most significant
goal of sustainable development. Designers use many varied techniques to reduce the
energy requirements of the buildings and increase their ability to capture or produce
their own energy.
identify suitable measures for mitigating the significant impacts of the proposed
activity; and
enable informed decision making, including setting the environmental terms and
conditions for implementing the proposed activity.
maintain valued resources, natural areas and ecosystem constituents; and improve the
social aspects of the proposed activity.
2.
2.1
Historical Background
A major amendment in EIA notification of 1994 was done vide S.O.801(E), dated 7 th
July, 2004 when environmental clearance was made mandatory for infrastructure
projects as- (1) any construction project including new townships, industrial townships,
settlement colonies, commercial complexes, hotel complexes, hospitals and office
complexes with a population of greater than 1,000 (one thousand) persons or
discharging sewage of 50,000 (fifty thousand) litres per day or more or with an
investment of Rs.50,00,00,000/- (Rupees fifty crores) or more and (2) any industrial
The EIA notification of 1994 in spite of amendments done in it from time to time has
drawn flak on two key accounts (1) The applicants were approaching for environmental
clearance after obtaining clearances from a large number of authorities including
pollution control boards and thus their rejection was a contentious issue (2) The entire
process was centralized at the level of the Central Government and for a country as
diverse as India, it was very difficult for the public including NGOs to do proper
representation on the issues to the authorities.
The EIA notification of 1994 was thus withdrawn and replaced with a new notification
in September, 2006 (SO 1533E 14.9.2006). The EIA notification of September, 2006
made it clear that application for environmental clearance can be made just on
identification of prospective sites with a copy of the pre-feasibility project report or
conceptual plan. This was a major shift from notification in 1994 as no other clearance
is required while applying for environmental clearance. Thus if a project is rejected in
consideration stage itself, the project proponents cant pressurize for clearance on the
account that they had already gone for a large number of clearances from other
authorities. The September 2006 notification further delegated powers to state
governments to grant environmental clearance and accordingly categorized the projects
into Category A and Category B. The Category B projects are to be cleared at the
level of state governments whereas the Category A projects will be cleared at the level
of central government.
The projects or activities listed in the Schedule of notification shall require prior
environmental clearance from the concerned regulatory authority, the Central
Government in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for matters
covered under Category A in the Schedule and at the State level State Environment
Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for projects falling under Category B in the
Schedule. The prior environmental clearance shall be required before the start of any
construction work or preparation of land by the project organization except for securing
the land. The following is the scope of the Projects or Activities covered for
environmental clearance:
i.
ii.
iii.
The EIA Notification made provision for the constitution of a State Level Environment
Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for any state or UT by the Central Government
under sub-section (3) of section-3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
constituted of three Members with a Chairman and a Member - Secretary to be
nominated by the concerned State Government or the Union territory Administration.
The Member-Secretary shall be an officer of the concerned State Government or Union
territory administration conversant with environmental laws. The other two Members
shall either be a professional or expert meeting the eligibility criteria given in Appendix
VI to the notification. One of the stated Members above who is an expert in the
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process shall be the Chairman of the SEIAA.
The Chairman and non-official Member shall have fixed term of three years (from the
publication date of the notification by the Central Government constituting the
authority). All the decisions of SEIAA shall be unanimous and taken in a meeting.
As per the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change EIA (Environmental
Impact Assessment) rules, the projects and activities are largely grouped into two
categories i.e. Category A and B based on the prospective impacts on human health,
and on human made and natural resources. Category A and Category B includes
industry, mining and big infrastructure projects as listed in the schedule of the EIA
notification and include construction projects.
A) Project Categorization
All projects and activities are broadly categorized into two categories - Category A
and Category B, depending on the extent of potential impacts on human health and
natural and manmade resources.
The State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) shall base its decision
on the endorsements of the concerned State or Union territory level Expert Appraisal
Committee (SEAC) constituted for this purpose. If there is no duly constituted SEIAA
or SEAC, a Category B project shall be treated as a Category A project.
However, all those Category B projects which fulfil the General Conditions (GC)
stipulated in the Schedule have to obtain prior environmental clearance from the Expert
i. Notified Protected areas under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
ii. Notified Critically Polluted areas by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
from time to time.
iii. Notified Eco-sensitive areas (Zones).
iv. Inter-State boundaries and International boundaries.
Provided that the stipulations regarding the Distance of 10 km of the interstate can be
reduced or completely done away by an mutual agreement between the respective
states or U.Ts Sharing the common boundary in case the activity does not fall within
10 km of the area mentioned at item (i), (ii) & (iii) above.
Any company/ individual seeking prior environmental clearance in all cases has to fill
and submit the prescribed Form-1 and Supplementary Form-1A (if applicable) as given
in Appendix II of the EIA Notification (2006). This has to be done after the
identification of probable site(s) for the project and/or activities, before beginning of
any construction activity or preparation of land at the site by the applicant. The
applicant also has to furnish a copy of the pre-feasibility project report along with the
application. In case of construction activities or projects (given in item 8 of the EIA
Notification, 2006 Schedule) in addition to Form-1 and the Supplementary Form-1A,
copy of the conceptual plan has to be provided instead of the pre-feasibility report.
If a project falls in Category B, the project goes to state government for clearance
which further categorise it either B1 or B2 project. B2 projects not require
preparation of EIA reports. Obviously, the EC process for new projects is different (and
more detailed) than for existing projects. The environmental clearance (EC) process for
new projects comprises a maximum of four stages, all of which may not apply to a
particular case. The four stages in sequential order are:
Screening
Scoping
Public Consultation
Appraisal
Stage 1: Screening
The screening of the activity or the project is primarily to differentiate between projects
belonging to Category B which are to be cleared by the State Level Environmental
Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). This stage needs the scrutiny of the application
made in Form-1, for seeking prior environmental clearance, by the concerned State
level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) for determining that whether or not the
activity or project requires further environmental investigation for preparation of an
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for its appraisal prior to the grant of
environmental clearance based on the nature and location specificity of the project. The
projects requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment report are termed as Category
B1 projects and remaining projects are termed as Category B2 which do not require
an Environmental Impact Assessment report. Regarding categorization of projects into
B1 or B2, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is
mandated to issue appropriate procedures from time to time.
Stage 2: Scoping
Scoping is the stage in which the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) in the case of
Category A projects, and State level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) in the case
of Category B1 projects determine detailed and comprehensive Terms of References
(TORs) covering all the relevant environmental concerns for the preparation of the EIA
report. In this step various aspects are determined that need to be studied in the EIA
report. The concerned EAC or SEAC determines the TORs on the basis of the
following:
other information that may be available with the concerned EAC or SEAC.
applicant within sixty days of the receipt of Form-1, the TORs submitted by the
applicant shall be deemed as the final TORs approved for the EIA studies. The final
approved TORs have to be made public as well. Furthermore, there is a provision to
reject prior environmental clearance applications at this stage itself by the concerned
regulatory authority. In case of rejection, the decision along with reasons for the same
has to be communicated to the applicant in written form within sixty days of the receipt
of the application.
Stage 3: Public Consultation
In Public Consultation stage the concerns of local affected persons and others who have
convincing stake in the environmental impacts of the activity or project are ascertained.
This stage of the EIA process is to consist of two aspects:
The public hearing process in which local affected people only, can participate.
All Category A and Category B1 projects or activities are to undergo Public Hearing.
The six projects or activities which have been exempted from this important stage of
Public Hearing are as under:
land.
All Building /Construction projects / Townships and Area Development
projects.
All Category B2 activities and projects.
All activities or projects concerning national defence and security or involving
other strategic considerations as determined by the Central Government.
The procedure of public hearing has been well designed in the EIA Notification, 2006.
The prescribed limit for completing the public hearing process is fixed as a period of 45
days from date of receipt of the request letter from the Applicant. If the concerned State
Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or the Union Territory Pollution Control Committee
(UTPCC) fails to hold the public hearing within the specified 45 days then the Central
Government in Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) for
Category A projects and the State Government or Union Territory Administration for
Category B projects at the request of the SEIAA, will have to engage any other
agency or authority to complete the public hearing process, as per the procedure laid
down in the EIA Notification.
Stage 4: Appraisal
In the Appraisal stage the Expert Appraisal Committee or State Level Expert Appraisal
Committee undertake the detailed scrutiny of the application and other documents
submitted by the applicant for granting environmental clearance (EC). The projects or
activities which are exempted from EIA and public consultation are appraised only on
the consideration of the information in the application form and optional site visits.
in the area of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would have to get themselves
registered under the scheme of Accreditation and Registration of the National
Accreditation Board for Education & Training (NABET) a constituent of Quality
Council of India (QCI). Further mentioned that Consultant would be allowed the
consultancy only in the accredited sectors and parameters for bringing in more
specificity in the EIA document.
iii) Amendment dated 22nd March, 2010 (MoEF&CC O.M. dated 22.03.2010) : The
MoEF&CC vide notification dated 22 nd March, 2010 has decided that from 01.04.2010,
the prescribed TORs would be valid for two years for submission of the EIA/EMP
Reports, after public consultation where so required. This period will be extended to the
3rd year, based on proper justification and approval of the EAC/SEAC, as the case may
be. Further in case of TORs granted prior to issue of this notification, the EIA/EMP
reports should be submitted, after public consultation where so required, no later than
four years from the date of grant of TORs, with primary data not older than three years.
iv) Amendment dated 22nd August, 2014 (MoEF&CC O.M. dated 22.08.2014) :
The MoEF&CC vide notification dated 22nd August, 2014 has decided that:
The TORs prescribed for a project or activity will be valid for a period of two years
for submission of EIA and EMP report, except for River Valley and HEP projects
for which the validity of TORs will be for three years. The TORs will specifically
mention the date of expiry of validity and state that TORs will lapse after that date.
Some cases have come to the notice of Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change where application for extending the validity of TORs, as stated at
(a) above, was submitted by the project proponent and instead the project proponent
submitted complete proposal with EIA/EMP reports within the period for which it
could have obtained extension of TORs as stated at (b) above, for grant of
environment clearance. Strictly speaking, all such proposals, not being in line with
the existing instructions, should not be considered by the Regulatory Authority.
However, requests have been received for considering such proposals citing the
reasons that EIA / EMP reports have been submitted within the prescribed outer
time limit for validity of TORs, efforts put-in for preparing these reports, etc. It has
been decided that while such proposals received till the date of issuance of this O.M
may be considered by the Regulatory Authority, any such proposal after the
issuance of this O.M shall not be considered by the Regulatory Authority. The State
Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) shall ensure that Public Hearing is held within
the timeline of 45 days as prescribed in the EIA Notification, 2006. The SPCBs
shall also ensure that Public Hearing is held within the validity period of the TORs,
and that no Public Hearing is held after the validity period of TORs is over. The
Public Hearing conducted after the expiry of the TORs shall not be accepted by the
Regulatory Authority for appraisal. The Public Hearing should be held well before
the expiry of validity of TORs so that EIA / EMP reports are submitted by
proponent within the validity period of TORs.
Extension of validity of TORs beyond the outer limit of three years for all activities
or projects and four years for River Valley and Hydro Electric Power projects shall
not be considered by the Regulatory Authority. In those cases, the project proponent
will have to start the process de novo and obtain fresh TORs in case the proponent
is still interested in obtaining the environmental clearance for the project. Re-use of
old base line data (provided it is not more than three years old) for the purpose of
preparation of fresh EIA and EMP (Environment Management Plan) report will be
considered subject to due diligence by the EAC/SEAC which may make suitable
recommendations including the need for revalidation. Base line data older than
three years will not be used for preparation of EIA / EMP report. In any case the
Public Hearing shall have to be conducted afresh in such cases.
Some instances have also come to the notice of the Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change wherein, though the EIA / EMP report is submitted by the
proponent within the validity period of TORs, the case remains pending for want of
submission of additional information from the proponent, State Government, etc.,
as wanted by the EAC / Ministry. This Ministry has already decided vide O.M. No.
v) Amendment dated 7th October, 2014 (MoEF&CC O.M. dated 07.10.2014) : The
MoEF&CC vide notification dated 7th October, 2014 decided that the EACs/SEACs
should consider the proposal comprehensively at the scoping stage itself and the
requisite information/studies should be sought from the proponent in one go while
prescribing the TORs. While appraising the project, the concerned EAC/SEAC may
satisfy itself that the TORs have been appropriately addressed in the EIA/EMP reports
and ensure that no fresh issues are raised unless it turns out that the information
provided by the Project Proponent at the time of scoping was wrong and misleading.
vi) Amendment dated 7th October, 2014 (MoEF&CC O.M. dated 07.10.2014) : The
MoEF&CC vide notification dated 7th October, 2014 has categorised the EC conditions
and decided that the conditions under both General and Specific and both for
category A and B projects would be categorised as under:
Conditions if any
8(a)
Building and
Construction
projects
8(b)
Townships
and Area
Developmen
t
projects
Covering an area
50
ha and or built up
area
1,50,000 sq.m **
The general conditions (GC) are not applicable for construction projects.
A) Amendments in EIA Notification 2006 in relation to Activity 8 i.e.
Construction Projects
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change from time to time has made
need based amendments to the EIA act 2006. The key amendments notified by the
MOEF&CC as concerned with Building Construction and Township projects are as
given below:i) Amendment dated 15th May, 2007 (F.No. J-12011/13/2005-IA (CIE) part dated
15.05.2007) : The MoEF&CC notified Manuals for Environmental Clearance of
Large Construction Projects as Technical guidelines to assist the project proponent/
stakeholders/ consultants for preparation of Environmental Clearance. All
construction projects to be appraised by EAC or SEAC on the basis of Manuals.
Further given the pointing criteria for Environmental Grading of projects as
Platinum (90-100 points), Gold (80-89 points), Silver (60-79 points) and
Bronze (40-59 points). The State Pollution Control Boards shall verify the
compliance of Environmental Management Plans & observance the criteria of
gradation by the Project Proponents.
ii) Amendment dated 4th April, 2011 (MoEF&CC Notification S.O. 695 dated
04.04.2011) : It was notified that the built up area for the purpose of 14 th September,
2006 notification would be the built up or covered area on all the floors put together
including the basement(s) and other service areas which are proposed in the
building/ construction projects.
iii) Amendment dated 10th May, 2011 & 27th June, 2011 (MoEF&CC O.M. dated
10.05.2011 & 27.06.2011): It was decided that proposals for obtaining
Environmental Clearance in respect of Building and Construction projects which
have obtained Green Building rating (Pre-Certification or Provisional Certification)
under the rating programmes of GRIHA, IGBC including LEED India etc. shall get
priority for their consideration, out of turn, by the EAC/ SEAC.
iv) Amendment dated 7th February, 2012 (MoEF&CC O.M. on High Rise Buildings
dated 07.02.2012): The MoEF&CC vide notification dated 07th February, 2012
prescribed requirements for High Rise Buildings. For buildings more than 15m
height all necessary fire fighting equipment shall be in place before the occupancy
of the building. Minimum width of the road (right of way) and location of fire
station was prescribed for various heights of buildings as under:a) Minimum width of the road (right of way)
Table - 2.2: Minimum width of road (right of way) for various heights of buildings
S. No.
Height of Building
a)
b)
c)
d)
between 15 m 30 m
between 30 m 45 m
between 45 m 60 m
above 60 m
18 m
24 m
30 m
45
Height of Building
No.
a)
b)
c)
between 30 m 45 m
between 45 m 60 m
above 60 m
Within 05 Km
Within 02 Km
Within 10 minutes driving distance
Mandatory Mock-up drills, requirement for NOC from fire Department & National/
State Disaster Management Authority were prescribed. It was further notified that
SEIAA may decide to have the provision of more stringent than the prescribed
guidelines for projects, if the local circumstances so warrant.
v) Amendment dated 04th December, 2012 (MoEF&CC Notification dated
04.12.2012) : The MoEF&CC notified Sector Specific Model TORs to assist the
project proponent/ stakeholders/ consultants.
vi) Amendment dated 19th June, 2013 (MoEF&CC O.M. dated 19.06.2013) : The
MoEF&CC vide notification dated 19th June, 2013 decided as under:
a) Timelines stipulated in the EIA Notification, 2006 shall be strictly adhered to by
SEIAA and SEAC while processing the proposals for TOR/EC for the building
and construction projects and township and area development projects.
b) SEIAA/SEAC may only focus on the thrust areas of environmental
sustainability while appraising the Building and Construction and Township
and Area Development projects i.e. Brief Description of the Project,
Environmental Impacts on Project Land, Water, Waste Water Treatment, natural
slope and drainage pattern, Ground water, Solid Waste Management, Air
Quality and Noise Levels, Energy requirements, Traffic Circulation, Green
Belt/Green cover, Disaster/Risk Assessment and Management Plan, Socio Economic
Impacts, EMP during construction and operational phases, Any other related
parameter of the project which may have any other specific impact on
environmental sustainability and ecology.
The SEIAA/SEAC need not focus on the other issues which are normally looked
after by the concerned local bodies/ State Government Departments/SPCBs.
vii)Amendment dated 22nd August, 2013 (MoEF&CC S.O. 2559 (E), dated
22.08.2013): The MoEF&CC vide notification dated 22 nd August, 2013 decided
that all projects and activities listed as Category B in item 8 of the Schedule
(Construction or Township or Commercial Complexes or Housing) shall not require
scoping. These projects and activities shall be appraised on the basis of Form-I or
Form-IA and the conceptual plan.
viii) Amendment dated 22nd December, 2014 (MoEF&CC S.O. 3252 (E), dated
22.12.2014) : The MoEF&CC vide notification dated 22nd December, 2014 has
amended
the
Schedule,
under
Column
(1),
for
item
relating
to
Building/Construction Projects/Area Development Projects and Townships and subitems 8 (a) and 8 (b) and the entries relating thereto as under:Table - Amended Schedule in EIA, 2006 notification for Building/Construction
Projects/Area Development Projects and Townships and sub-items 8 (a)
and 8 (b)
Project
or
limit
Activity
8
8(a)
Conditions if any
B
Building /Construction projects/Area Development projects &
Building &
Townships
>20000
Construction
sq.m.
projects
and <
1,50,000
sq. m. of
built up area
shed,
school,
college,
hostel
for
Townships
Covering an
Project
or
limit
A
Activity
Conditions if any
& Area
area of >
Developmen
50 ha and or
built up area
as Category B1 Project.
projects.
> 1,50,000
sq. m.
ix) Clarification dated 5th March, 2015 (MoEF&CC Clarification for S.O. 3252
(E), dated 05.03.2015) : The MoEF&CC vide notification dated 5th March, 2015
has clarified that The word 'Industrial Shed' implies building (whether RCC or
otherwise) which is being used for housing plant and Machinery of industrial units
and shall include Godowns and buildings connected with production related and
other associated activities of the unit in the same premises.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in April, 2015 has published
Standard Terms of Reference (TOR) for EIA/EMP Report for Projects / Activities
requiring environment clearance under EIA Notification 2006. The standard terms of
reference has been prepared for guiding the Project Proponent on preparation of EIA /
EMP Report and expediting the process of Environmental Clearance without
compromising environmental norms and the rigor of environment impact assessment.
2.5 PARTICIPANTS IN AN EIA
The EIA would involve the participation of people with various intents and expertise.
In case of EIA studies, these persons are grouped into the categories as under:
i.
ii.
iii.
Assessor The technical personnel/ agency that carries out EIA scrutiny and
prepares EIA report for the project proponent is referred to as assessors.
iv.
v.
vi.
Special Interest Groups Local NGOs, Associations and technical agencies that
have interest in the development of the project are special interest groups.
vii.
Experts For any problem in a specific environment, the assessor would need to
seek the assistance of experts in that particular subject. They are also a vital part
of EIA.
Impact analysis is the heart of EIA which is done to predict the impacts of the project or
activity, assess their significance and establish measures to avoid, reduce or compensate
for the impacts. The impacts on the following environmental factors are predicted and
evaluated (1) Air Environment (2) Land Environment (3) Ground Water Environment
(4) Surface Water Environment (5) Noise Environment (6) Biological Environment (7)
Cultural Environment (8) Socio-Economic Environment and (9) Visual Environment.
The impact analysis process is done through six steps:
Identification
main impacts are forecasted depending on baseline data. This is done normally by
Checklist Method, Adhoc method and Matrix methods.
Description
environmental data pertaining to the project site for all seasons. The noticeable
methodologies for this step are Literature Review and conducting practical studies,
where necessary.
Procurement
regulations and bye-laws and understanding the level and quantity of impact that
may be permissible.
Prediction
and effects and their secondary, synergetic significances for the environment and
local community is done. Prediction is done by the Matrix methods, Checklist
methods, Network Methods, Literature Review and proficient judgments.
The report submitted after carrying out environmental impact assessment is called
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This step aims to provide the decision makers
with necessary and correct information to aid their process. The assessor should
produce an EIA report which should be made available to the public for giving inputs
and later revised thoroughly to frame the final Environmental Impact Statement. An
Environmental Impact Assessment report typically contains (a) An exclusive summary
of EIA outcomes (b) An explanation of the project and no project scenario (c) Major
environmental and natural issues requiring clarification (d) The impacts of the project
or activity on the environment and data pertaining to how they were identified and
expected (e) Discussion of various mitigation options and rationale behind choosing a
particular one (f) An overview of gaps and uncertainties & finally (g) overview of EIA
for the general public. All the above should be presented in a very concise, easy to read
document with cross references to background information. Most importantly, many
visual aids should be incorporated to make the information lucid and understandable.
2.8 REVIEW OF EIA
This step in EIA process is to check that if the EIA has been done properly and that EIS
(EIA report) is adequate. This process is generally done by a reviewer (in few cases the
decision maker may himself verify and function as a reviewer). The reviewer would
verify the EIA report for sufficiency and relevance of assessment. The process involves
selection of reviewers, setting review/verification criteria, proportioning and scaling of
reviews and recommend suitable action etc. The reviewing is generally done by various
approaches like checklists, public review, expert opinion, assessment with TOR etc.
While reviewing, reviewer sets a scale of reviewing and gives the project a final grade
between A to F, with A well performed and F unsatisfactory and from B to E from
satisfactory to insufficient. Apart from the rating, the reviewer would add the following
(1) A brief overview of the strengths and weaknesses of report (2) Any needs for further
investigation (3) any terms/conditions that should be applied if proposal is granted.
The most critical and the penultimate step in EIA process is decision making. The
decision makers although affiliated with the Government are persons who were not
closely involved in that particular EIA study. It is alike to our Lab Examinations, where
our examiner is not associated with our activities, but yet a proven expert in that field.
The decision makers examine the EIA report and the review of the EIA report
statement, consider the practical realities, put in their experience and knowledge and
decide for the course of action. However, well rated reviews get the nod of the decision
makers, it is not mandatory for the decision maker to grant clearance based on review.
At the end of this stage, the proposal either gets the environmental clearance or is asked
to revise the proposal in some areas or asked to rewind based on the nature, level and
magnitude of impacts. The Environment Management Plan (EMP) is the most crucial
document and once the proponent gets environment clearance, he has to follow the
EMP. After the issue of environmental clearance, the project proponent can start the
project.
2.10 VALIDITY OF EC
The Validity of Environmental Clearance indicates the period from which a prior
environmental clearance is granted by the regulatory authority, or may be assumed by
the applicant to have been granted as per the Notification (2006), to the start of
manufacturing operations by the activity or project, or completion of all construction
activities in case of construction projects (item 8 of the Schedule) for which project the
application for prior environmental clearance was made. Following is the validity time
period for various projects/activities:-