Why in News?

The MoEF&CC has officially withdrawn the January 2022 Office Memorandum (OM) that introduced a star-rating system for evaluating State Environmental Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs).

This was done by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) following a legal challenge and intervention by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Introduction of the Star-Rating System
• Details of the Star-Rating System
• Technology Integration - PARIVESH Portal
• Legal Challenge and Withdrawal of the Star-Rating System
• Conclusion

Introduction of the Star-Rating System:

• Introduced on: January 17, 2022
• Purpose: To incentivise SEIAAs to grant timely environmental clearances under the 2006 Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification.
• Objective: Promote ease of doing business by ranking states based on efficiency in clearance processes.
• Origin: Decision followed a November 2021 meeting chaired by the then Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.

Details of the Star-Rating System:

• Criteria for rating:
  • Time taken to process and grant environmental clearances.
  • Adherence to stipulated timelines.
  • Performance in pre-approval and approval stages.
  • Scores ranged from 0 to 7 stars.
• Targeted bodies:
  • SEIAAs responsible for Category B projects.
  • Category A projects continued to be appraised by the MoEF&CC at the central level.

Technology Integration - PARIVESH Portal:

• The star-rating system was integrated with PARIVESH 1.0, a single-window platform for environmental clearance processes.
• The ministry had planned to migrate and revise the rating criteria for PARIVESH 2.0, but this is now on hold due to the withdrawal.

Legal Challenge and Withdrawal of the Star-Rating System:

• Petition filed by: Meenava Thantai, a Tamil Nadu-based fishermen’s association.
• Grounds of challenge:
  • The system was arbitrary.
  • Allegedly weakened environmental scrutiny and diluted the EIA process.
• NGT proceedings and order:
  • The OM dated 17.01.2022 is declared inoperative on March 27, 2025.
  • MoEF&CC stated that a new set of criteria may be developed in the future.

Conclusion:

• The case highlights following issues in environmental governance -
  • Balance between development and environmental regulation.
  • Role of NGT in environmental jurisprudence.
  • Ease of doing business vs. environmental safeguards.
• The withdrawal of the star-rating system reflects a step back in promoting administrative efficiency through ratings.
• The Centre now acknowledges the need for review and revision of criteria to ensure that environmental integrity is not compromised.