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Procedure to Conduct Public Hearing
1.0 The Public Hearing shall be arranged in
a systematic, time bound and transparent manner ensuring widest possible
public participation at the project sites (s) or in its close proximity
District-wise, by the concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or the
Union Territory Pollution Control Committee (UTPCC).
2.0
The Process:
2.1 The application shall make a request through
a simple letter to the Member Secretary of the SPCB or Union Territory
Pollution Control Committee, in whose jurisdiction the project is located,
to arrange the public hearing within the prescribed statutory period. In
case the project site is covering more than one District or State or Union
Territory, the public hearing is mandated in each District, State or Union
Territory in which the project is located and the application shall make
separate requests to each concerned SPCB or UTPCC for holding the public
hearing as per this procedure.
2.2 The applicant shall enclose with the letter
of request, at least 10 hard copies and an equivalent number of soft
(electronic) copies of the draft EIA Report with the generic structure given
in Appendix III including the Summary Environment Impact Assessment Report
in English and in the official language of the state/local language,
prepared strictly in accordance with the Terms of Reference communicated
after Scoping (Stage-2). Simultaneously the applicant shall arrange to
forward copies, one hard and one soft, of the above draft EIA reporting
along with the Summary EIA report to the following authorities or offices,
within whose jurisdiction the project will be located:
(a) District Magistrate/District
Collector/Deputy commissioner/s
(b) Zilla Parishad or Municipal
Corporation or Panchayats Union
(c) District Industries Office
(d) Urban Local Bodies (ULBS) /PRIs
Concerned /Development authorities.
(e) Concerned Regional Office of the
Ministry of Environment and Forests
2.3 On receiving the draft Environment Impact
Assessment report, the above-mentioned authorities except the Regional
Office of MoEF, shall arrange to widely publicize it within their respective
jurisdictions requesting the interested persons to send their comments to
the concerned regulatory authorities. They shall also make available the
draft EIA Report for inspection electronically or otherwise to the public
during normal office hours till the public hearing is over.
2.4 The SPCB or UTPCC concerned shall also make
similar arrangements for giving publicity about the project within the
State/Union Territory and make available the Summary of the draft
Environment Impact Assessment report (Appendix III A) for inspection in
select offices or public libraries or any other suitable location etc. They
shall also additionally make available a copy of the draft Environment
Impact Assessment report to the above five authorities/offices as given in
para 2.2.
3.0 Notice
Public Hearing:
3.1 The Member-Secretary of the concerned SPCB or
UTPCC shall finalize the date, time and exact venue for the conduct of
public hearing within 7 (seven) days of the date of receipt of the draft
Environment Impact Assessment report from the project proponent, and
advertise the same in one major National Daily and one Regional
vernacular Daily /Official State Language. A minimum notice period of 30
(thirty) days shall be provided to the public for furnishing their
responses;
3.2 The advertisement shall also inform the
public about the places or offices where the public could access the draft
Environment Impact Assessment report before the public hearing. In places
where the newspapers do not reach, the Competent Authority should arrange to
inform the local public about the public hearing by other means such as by
way of beating of drums as well as advertisement / announcement on
radio/television.
3.3 No postponement of the date, time, venue of
the public hearing shall be undertaken, unless some untoward emergency
situation occurs and then only on the recommendation of the concerned
District Magistrate/District collector/Deputy commissioner, the postponement
shall be notified to the public through the same National and Regional
vernacular dailies and also prominently displayed at all the identified
offices by the concerned SPCB or Union Territory pollution Control
Committee;
3.4 In the above exceptional circumstances,
fresh date, time and venue for the public consultation shall be decided by
the Member-Secretary of the concerned SPCB or UTPCC only in consultation
with the District Magistrate/District collector/Deputy commissioner
and notified afresh as per procedure under 3.1 above.
4.0 Supervision and
Presiding over the Hearing:
4.1 The District Magistrate /District
collector/Deputy commissioner or his or her representative not below the
rank of an Additional District Magistrate assisted by a representative of
SPCB or UTPCC, shall supervise and preside over the entire public hearing
process.
5.0
Videography:
5.1 The SPCB or UTPCC shall arrange to
video film the entire proceedings. A copy of the videotape or a CD shall be
enclosed with the public hearing proceedings while forwarding it to the
Regulatory Authority concerned.
6.0
Proceedings:
6.1 The attendance of all those who are present
at the venue shall be noted and annexed with the final proceedings.
6.2 There shall be no quorum required for
attendance for starting the proceedings.
6.3 A representative of the applicant shall
initiate the proceedings with a presentation on the project and the Summary
EIA report.
6.4 Persons present at the venue shall be granted
the opportunity to seek information or clarifications on the project from
the applicant. The summary of the public hearing proceedings accurately
reflecting all the views and concerns expressed shall be recorded by the
representative of the SPCB or UTPCC and read over to the audience at the end
of the proceedings explaining the contents in the local/vernacular language
and the agreed minutes shall be signed by the District Magistrate /District
collector/Deputy commissioner or his or her representative on the same day
and forwarded to the SPCB/UTPCC concerned.
6.5 A statement of the issues raised by the
public and the comments of the applicant shall also be prepared in the local
language or the Official State language, as the case may be, and in English
and annexed to the proceedings:-
6.6 The proceedings of the public hearing shall
be conspicuously displayed at the office of the Panchyats within whose
jurisdiction the project is located, office of the concerned Zilla Parishad,
District Magistrate /District collector/Deputy commissioner, and the SPCB or
UTPCC. The SPCB or UTPCC shall also display the proceedings on its website
for general information. Comments, if any, on the proceedings, may be sent
directly to the concerned regulatory authorities and the applicant
concerned.
7.0
Time period for completion of public hearing:
7.1 The public hearing shall be completed within
a period of forty five days from date of receipt of the request letter from
the applicant. Thereafter the SPCB or UTPCC concerned shall send the public
hearing proceedings to the concerned regulatory authority within eight days
of the completion of the public hearing. Simultaneously, a copy will also be
provided to the project proponent. The applicant may also directly forward a
copy of the approved public hearing proceedings to the regulatory authority
concerned along with the final Environmental Impact Assessment report or
supplementary report to the draft EIA report prepared after the public
hearing and public consultations incorporating the concerns expressed in the
public hearing along with action plan and financial allocation, item-wise,
to address those concerns.
7.2 If the SPCB or UTPCC fails to hold the public
hearing within the stipulated 45 (forty five) days, the Central government
in Ministry of Environment and Forests for Category ‘A‘ project or activity
and the State Government or union Territory Administration for
Category ‘B‘ project or activity at the request of the SEIAA, shall
engage any other agency or authority to complete the process, as per
procedure laid down in this Notification.