India's Proposed EIA Amendment Creates Bypass Route Around State Expert Committees

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change published a draft notification on March 5, 2026 proposing amendments to the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 that would create two new central bodies to take over state-level environmental clearance functions when State Expert Appraisal Committees or State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities lapse. Critics argue the reform prioritises administrative continuity over the expert scientific appraisal that the original 2006 framework mandated.

The draft proposes the Standing Authority on Environment Impact Assessment and the Standing Committee on Environment Impact Appraisal as fallback mechanisms when state-level bodies become non-functional due to tenure expiry or reconstitution delays. If a SEAC fails to complete appraisal within 120 days, the proposal automatically transfers to SCEIA; if SEIAA fails to communicate a decision in time, SAEIA takes a final decision within 30 days. The new bodies may consist of 'ex-officio members as deemed appropriate by the Central Government', contrasting sharply with the EIA Notification's detailed requirements for members with at least 15 years of professional experience across environmental science, law, ecology and other disciplines.

The original 2006 EIA framework required Expert Appraisal Committee members to hold formal university training in environmental science or related fields and possess extensive professional experience. The notification capped committee membership at 15, required eminent chairpersons and granted members fixed tenures with protections against removal. These safeguards were designed to ensure that clearance decisions emerged from independent expert evaluation rather than administrative discretion. The 2026 amendment instead focuses on maintaining uninterrupted approval flows, resolving institutional dysfunction by routing decisions around expert bodies rather than strengthening them.

The analysis places the amendment within a pattern of successive regulatory adjustments that have compressed approval timelines since 2020. In March 2026, the Union environment ministry sought an explanation from Odisha's government over alleged violations in constituting its SEIAA and SEAC, including potential conflicts of interest involving members affiliated with environmental consultancy firms. The article argues that if lapses arise from weak institutional constitution rather than procedural delay alone, the durable solution lies in transparent appointments and timely reconstitution with clear eligibility criteria, not in creating parallel decision-making pathways with open-ended composition.

Key figure — 120-day deadline for SEAC appraisal before automatic transfer to new central authority under the proposed amendment