No provision to relax public hearing process in draft EIA: Javadekar

Ramesh, in his letter to the environment minister on July 25, has said that the draft EIA reduces public participation in all steps of the environment clearance process by lessening the notice period

The draft environment impact assessment (EIA) notification does not relax the process of public hearing, but aims to make it more meaningful, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday told senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

Javadekar wrote a letter in response to the objections to the draft EIA raised on various occasions by Ramesh, a former environment minister and the current chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, environment and climate change.

In his response, Javadekar also said that Ramesh publicizing his objections and letters was "premature" as the public consultations on the draft EIA were underway.