Report on India’s Environmental Performance and Policy Changes under BJP Rule
India’s environmental performance has significantly declined over the past decade, contradicting the optimistic declarations made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Despite his numerous statements on India’s commitment to climate action and sustainable development, the country’s rank on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) has dropped dramatically from 125th in 2012 to the lowest position, 180th, in 2022. This decline highlights the growing disparity between the government’s environmental promises and its actions.
The EPI, developed by Yale and Columbia universities, assesses countries on various environmental health and ecosystem vitality indicators. India’s poor performance in this index is a stark contrast to its notable improvement in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report (DBR), where it jumped from 142nd in 2014 to 63rd in 2019. This improvement in business rankings has been attributed to regulatory reforms aimed at easing business operations. However, these reforms have often come at the expense of environmental protections.
One significant issue is the indiscriminate granting of clearances for large projects that impact the environment. Between 2018 and 2022, the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) increased the number of clearances granted for Environmental (EC), Forest (FC), Wildlife (WL), and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) projects from 577 to 12,496. Additionally, the average time taken for these clearances has been reduced from over 150 days in 2019 to less than 70 days in 2022. This rapid pace of approvals often bypasses thorough environmental assessments, stakeholder consultations, and the implementation of necessary mitigation measures, thus lowering environmental safeguards.
Furthermore, the government has weakened laws protecting the environment, forests, coastal zones, wildlife, biodiversity, and other natural resources to facilitate development. Over the past five years, more than 100 amendments have been made to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. These amendments have systematically diluted environmental protections by removing the requirement for clearances for certain projects, exempting public consultations for others, and allowing projects that violate environmental norms to obtain post-facto clearance.
One of the most controversial changes was the Draft EIA Notification 2020, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This draft proposed removing 40 types of projects from requiring prior environmental clearance and eliminating mandatory public consultations for most projects. It also allowed for post-facto clearance for projects that began without proper approvals. Although this draft was not officially adopted due to public outcry, many of its provisions have been incrementally introduced through subsequent notifications and orders.
These policy changes have extended the validity of environmental clearances, making it easier for projects with significant environmental impacts to proceed with minimal oversight. For instance, the validity of clearances for hydropower projects has been extended to 13 years, nuclear projects to 15 years, and mining projects to 50 years. Such extensions further erode the stringent review processes needed to ensure environmental protection.
The combination of these policy changes has had severe repercussions on India’s environment. The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has highlighted the detrimental impact of these policies, revealing that the Modi government has largely prioritized economic development over environmental sustainability. The rapid granting of clearances and the weakening of environmental laws have facilitated the construction of power, road, and infrastructure projects with little regard for their ecological consequences.
In conclusion, while the Indian government publicly advocates for a balance between ecology and economy, its actions over the past decade tell a different story. The plummeting of India’s EPI ranking underscores the urgent need for a more robust and genuinely sustainable approach to environmental governance. The current trajectory, characterized by diluted environmental regulations and unchecked developmental activities, poses a significant threat to the country’s ecological health and its long-term sustainability.
