EIA GUIDELINES FOR INDUSTRIES
Abstract
The Government of Bangladesh, with a view to providing for conservation and improvement of environmental quality, and controlling and mitigating pollution of the environment, enacted the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act (BECA), 1995, which became effective from June 1, 1995. Section 12 of this Act stipulates that “No industrial unit or project shall be established or undertaken without obtaining environmental clearance from the Director General, Department of Environment in the manner prescribed by the rules”. Section 12 (4) of the Act (as amended in 2010) provides the guidance to adopt detailed rules on, inter alia, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report, Preparation of Environmental Management Plan, Judging of Public Opinion, Public Access to Information, Structure and Function of the Environment Clearance Committee, Minimum Necessary Conditions for Clearance, Appeal, etc. within the context of obtaining the Environmental Clearance Certificate. The Environmental Conservation Rules (ECR), 1997, the main subsidiary legislation of the BECA, provides specific rules and procedures for various categories of projects in relation to their approval prior to construction and operation. For projects and activities listed within the Red category, the ECR requires that an Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) be first submitted for approval. This should be accompanied with the terms of reference for an EIA, which is to follow the IEE. The EIA study is to be based on terms of reference that have the prior approval of the DoE. Conducting an EIA study and preparation of an EIA report are the responsibilities of a project proponent who may get this done either through in-house resources or through consultants. Further, the responsibility for carrying out review of the EIA report before according clearance, rests on DOE. Right after promulgation of the ECR, 1997, DoE published the EIA Guidelines for Industries in 1997 outlining simpler procedure to be followed for preparing EIA and their review. Now DoE considers it desirable to revise that book of guidelines by taking into account the present environmental status as well as the need for rapid economic development of Bangladesh. These considerations have essentially been kept in view while revising the handbook of general EIA Guidelines for Industries.
Citation
No Citation
Publisher
Department of Environment
Rights Holder
Department of Environment Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
URI
https://knowledgehub.pksf.org.bd/collections/ZWJWVmtXVzV4REIvVlEyajJwZVZZUT09