Promoting Public Participation for Integrating Sustainability Issues in Environmental Decision-Making: The Indian Experience

Abstract

In most regions of the world, consultative approaches involving "open door" model of public involvement are already being adopted in EIA process for ensuring sustainability of environmental and biodiversity resources and the security of the livelihoods of local communities. In India too, legislative provisions for public involvement in EIA were made mandatory by the enactment of Public Hearing Notification in April 1997 with an objective to strengthen public involvement in EIA process. The paper has drawn extensively from the case studies and proceedings of the public hearing to highlight the inherent weaknesses and process constraints that have undermined the benefits of public hearing in influencing the environmental decisions. To overcome some of the existing pitfalls of the consultative process, the paper emphasises the merit of initiating public involvement fairly early in EIA to make it an integral feature of the assessment procedures. The paper also stresses the significant need for a more proactive participation by adequately represented stakeholders in bringing about a positive tilt in the existing ceremonial nature of public hearing process to enhance its effectiveness as a participatory tool for consensus building and decision-making.