Madhya Pradesh Environment Clearance Row: 237 ‘Deemed Permission’ Cases Under Scanner, 3 IAS Officers Face Scrutiny

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Deemed permission, granted by the member secretary of the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the state environment department for 237 cases, has become complicated.

The Union Environment Ministry submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court, saying the rules make no provision for deemed permission.

It further said SEIAA should have decided according to the rules. A fact-finding committee probed the case.

After the affidavit of the Environment Ministry, problems may arise for three IAS officers.

When the environment department granted deemed permission, Navneet Kothari was the principal secretary, Uma Maheshwari was the member secretary of SEIAA, and Shriman Shukla was its acting member secretary.

The affidavit, however, says it seemed the then acting member secretary made the decisions to dispose of the cases quickly with good intentions.

The affidavit also says it made decisions such interpretations which the rules do not clearly mention.

The Supreme Court may act strictly against three officers for giving deemed permission without provisions.

The Environment Ministry, however, did not declare the decisions either legal or illegal. It said the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) gave its recommendations, but the SEIAA did not make the decisions accordingly.

The Environment Ministry has advised the department to make a decision after examining each of the 237 cases.

Paragraph 8 of the environment impact notification does not mean that if the authorities do not make a decision on time, it should not be considered deemed permission.

The SEAC recommends, but SEIAA has the right to make decisions. But it should unanimously make decisions at meetings.

According to the committee, since meetings did not take place, differences existed between the SEIAA chairman and the then member secretary.

The apex court will hear the case on October 13. Now, the SC will take steps on the grounds of the FFC reports. Many things will depend on it.

SEIAA and SEAC should get facilities for work

In its report, the committee also wrote that the state government should provide more facilities to SEIAA and SEAC to improve their working. Both organisations should get staff, an office, IT facilities, and necessary logistics.