The Assam government has constituted two statutory bodies to oversee the appraisal and decision-making process for projects requiring environmental clearance at the state level.
The State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) were constituted following a notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on October 6. Both bodies will have a four-year tenure from the date of publication of the Central Government notification in the Official Gazette.
The SEIAA will decide environmental clearance matters on the recommendations of the SEAC and will function according to the powers and procedures prescribed under the relevant Gazette notification.
Shyamanta Bezbarua, retired former Secretary of the Assam Public Works Department (Building and National Highway), will head the SEIAA as chairman. Dr Socindra Kumar Borthakur, retired professor of Botany at Gauhati University, has been appointed a member. The Secretary of the state’s Environment, Forests and Climate Change Department will serve as Member Secretary.
The SEAC will be chaired by Jatindra Sarma, IFS (Retd.), former Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.
The committee will include Prof. Parthankar Choudhury of Assam University, Silchar; Dr Rahul Mahanta, Associate Professor of Physics at Cotton University, Guwahati; environmentalist Dr Arup Barpujary; Dr Arup Kumar Sarma, Professor of Civil Engineering at IIT Guwahati; Dr Bhagwat Pran Duwarah, Professor of Geological Sciences at Gauhati University; and Dr Narayan Sharma, Assistant Professor of Environmental Biology and Wildlife Sciences at Cotton University.
The Member Secretary of the Assam Pollution Control Board will serve as the Member Secretary of the SEAC.
The SEAC will operate on the principle of collective responsibility. Its chairman will seek consensus on individual cases, with the majority view prevailing when consensus cannot be reached.
The government has established the offices of both bodies on the third floor of the Assam Pollution Control Board office building at Bamunimaidam in Guwahati.
The Assam Pollution Control Board will act as the secretariat for both bodies and provide financial, logistical and manpower support. The state government will provide accommodation, transportation and other facilities required for their statutory functions.
Remuneration, sitting fees, travelling allowances and dearness allowances for the chairmen and members will be paid under existing Assam government rules. A separate notification will be issued regarding the payment of these allowances.
