In a move set to give port and harbour projects a much longer regulatory runway, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has doubled the validity of environmental clearances (ECs) for ports, harbours, breakwaters and dredging projects from 10 to 20 years, with provisions for further extensions of up to five years each.The decision comes four months after the ministry proposed, in a draft notification issued in May, to increase the validity period to 15 years, with an option for a further five-year extension. Following consultations with stakeholders, the ministry decided to extend the validity to 20 years.
The ministry, in a notification issued on Monday, said the longer validity was warranted by the long gestation periods and phased development nature of port and harbour projects.
The changes have been introduced through an amendment to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. According to the amended provisions, projects seeking an extension beyond the initial 20-year validity will be subject to scrutiny by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) or the State-level EAC.
The committee will examine the existing environmental safeguards of the project and may recommend additional measures under the Environmental Management Plan before granting a further extension of up to five years.
The notification also provides for another five-year extension in “deserving cases” where a project has still not been operationalised within the extended period. Such cases will be examined by the EAC or State-level EAC, which may recommend an extension if it considers it appropriate.
The Sectoral Expert Appraisal Committee had earlier observed that the existing validity period for port and harbour projects needed to be “rationalised”, noting that the existing 10-year period, along with the one-year extension provision, could be insufficient given the nature of such projects.
Meanwhile, the amendment has triggered a political response from the Congress, with former Environment Minister and party general secretary Jairam Ramesh questioning the rationale behind the change.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Ramesh said, “Clearly being done for the proposed transshipment port in Great Nicobar which will, in all probability, be a Modani enterprise”.
