The plan is necessary as infrastructure is critical for development and growth. It is of critical importance, though, to avoid approving in haste and repenting at leisure. Speed must equal efficiency, not absence of rigour.
The more detailed the information available to clearance committees, the quicker and more effective the decision-making. Environmental assessments require studying project sites, their impact on local and regions’ environment and ecosystem services, and the capacity of the area to support (the number and types of) developments.
Assessment of the project’s social and economic impacts are essential. Satellite and geographic information systems (GIS) help but cannot replace groundwork. Speeding up the process requires improved and detailed assessment of ecology, hydrology, flora and fauna, and ecosystem services of the project site and broader areas.
It requires taking on board the views of the local community that will be positively and negatively affected. Institutions conducting these assessments must be strengthened. Rigorous assessments will improve determination of desirability and viability of projects and actions required to mitigate impacts.
Most of the required infrastructure in India is being built in a world constrained by the triple environmental crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Speeding up clearance that underplays these constraints will undermine the quality, sustainability and longevity of infrastructure, and India’s economic ambitions.
