Opinion and commentary

The Indian government released a draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020 for public comments on March 12, 2020, days before a countrywide COVID-19 lockdown was announced. The draft notification proposes a revised ‘environmental clearance’ process for 43 categories of industrial and infrastructure projects. Despite the limited opportunities for protests during this period, the draft has become a public controversy. Legal cases and digital protests have criticised the draft for its content, timing and public outreach. There are demands to scrap the draft and design a new, stronger law.