Amendment of EIA Notification for creation of standing authority.

REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99 The Gazette of India CG-DL-E-14072026-274485 EXTRAORDINARY PART II—Section 3—Sub-section (ii) PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 3700] NEW DELHI, MONDAY, JULY 13, 2026/ASHADHA 22, 1948 MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 13th July, 2026 S.O. 3862(E).— WHEREAS, the Central Government in the erstwhile Ministry of Environment and Forests, in exercise of its powers under sub-section (1) and clause (v) of sub-section (2) of section (3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986) has published the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as the said notification), vide number S.O.1533 (E), dated the 14th September, 2006 for mandating prior Environmental Clearance (EC) for certain category of projects covered in the Schedule of the notification; AND WHEREAS, the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs) have been constituted in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986) for decentralization of the EC process for expeditious clearances at the State level for category B projects. To assist SEIAAs, State Level Expert Appraisal Committees (SEACs) are constituted by the Ministry in consultation with the State Governments; AND WHEREAS, the tenure of SEIAA and SEAC is three years, extendable by one year. In the absence of SEIAA and SEAC, appraisal of projects within their domain is carried out at the Central level. The process of reconstitution is ordinarily initiated six months prior to expiry, however, delays occur due to late or incomplete submission of proposals from States; AND WHEREAS, the matter has been examined in the Ministry. It has been observed that delayed re-constitution of SEIAA leads to complete halt in the EC process at the State levels and the pending proposals are transferred in bulk to the Centre leading to extended timelines and unwarranted delays in the appraisal of the projects, thereby impacting project timelines and investor confidence; AND WHEREAS, the Central Government deems it necessary that the continuity of SEIAA and SEAC be ensured by authorising a separate standing body as an interim arrangement for the purpose of appraisal of projects or activities and grant of regulatory clearances under Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006, in the absence of a functional authority and till the constitution of new SEIAA and SEAC; AND WHEREAS, Appendix VI of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006, provides for the composition of the sector or project specific Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for category 'A' projects and the State or Union territory Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), State or Union territory Level Expert Appraisal Committees (SEACs) for category 'B' projects to be constituted by the Central Government. Based on the experience gathered over the years in constituting EACs and SEIAAs and SEACs, the Ministry deems it necessary to carry out certain amendments in the provisions of the Appendix VI of the EIA Notification, 2006 to further streamline the constitution of EACS and SEIAAs and EACs; AND WHEREAS, a draft notification for making amendments in the said notification was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii), vide number S.O. 1165 (E) dated the 5th March, 2026, inviting objections and suggestions from all the persons likely to be affected thereby, within a period of sixty days from the date on which copies of the Gazette containing the said draft notification were made available to the Public and the objections and suggestions received in response to the said draft notification within the period of sixty days have been duly considered by the Central Government; NOW, THEREFORE, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) and clause (v) of sub- section (2) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986), read with sub-rule (3) of rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, the Central Government hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the erstwhile Ministry of Environment and Forests, vide number S.O.1533(E), dated the 14th September, 2006, namely:- In the said notification,- (a) in paragraph 3, in sub-paragraph (6):- (i) for the word "three” the word "four" shall be substituted. (ii) for the proviso, the following shall be substituted, namely:- “(6a) The process for re-constitution of SEIAA shall be initiated by the State Government six months prior to expiry. (6b) In addition to the constitution of SEIAA as above, there shall also be a Standing Authority on Environment Impact Assessment (SAEIA) for each State or Union territory which shall be constituted by the Central Government, under sub-section (3) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and shall comprise of ex-officio Members as deemed appropriate. The SAEIA which shall discharge the functions of SEIAA in the event of SEIAA being non-functional due to expiry of its term or on account of any other circumstances for a maximum period of six months in each case subject to another extension of up to maximum period of six months." (b) in paragraph 3, in sub-paragraph (7), after the letters “SEIAA” the letters “or SAEIA” shall be inserted. (c) in paragraph 4, in sub paragraph (iii) the words “In the absence of a duly constituted SEIAA or SEAC, a Category 'B' project shall be considered at the Central Level as a Category 'B' project" shall be omitted. (d) in paragraph 5, in sub-paragraph (c) :- (i) for the word "three” the word "four" shall be substituted. (ii) for the proviso, the following shall be substituted, namely:- “(ca) The process for re-constitution of SEAC shall be initiated by the State Government six months prior to expiry. (cb) A Standing Committee on Environment Impact Appraisal (SCEIA) for each State or Union territory shall be constituted by the Central Government comprising of ex-officio Members, which shall discharge the functions of SEAC in the event of SEAC(s) being non-functional due to expiry of its term or on account of any other circumstances for a maximum period of six months in each case subject to another extension of up to maximum period of six months." e. Appendix VI shall be substituted with the following namely:- "APPENDIX VI (See paragraph 3 and 5) A. COMPOSITION AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA OF THE SECTOR OR PROJECT SPECIFIC EXPERT APPRAISAL COMMITTEE (EAC) FOR CATEGORY-A PROJECTS AND THE STATE OR UNION TERRITORY LEVEL ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY (SEIAA), State Or UNION TERRITORY LEVEL EXPERT APPRAISAL COMMITTEES (SEACS) FOR CATEGORY-B PROJECTS TO BE CONSTITUTED BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT 1. Qualification: i. Five years of formal education leading to a MA or MSc or MBA or LLM Degree, or prescribed apprenticeship or articleship leading to a qualified Chartered Account, or ii. In case of Engineering or Technology or Architecture disciplines, four years formal education in a professional course leading to a B.Tech or B.E. or B.Arch. Degree, or iii. Civil Service Officers with two years of formal training in a Service Academy. 2. Experience: Any person with the above qualifications along with at least fifteen years of subsequent experience, or with Ph.D., along with at least ten years of total experience in the following fields or disciplines: i. Environment Quality: Experts in measurement, monitoring, analysis and interpretation of data in relation to environmental quality ii. Sectoral Project Management: Experts in Project Management or Management of Process or Operations or Facilities in the relevant sectors iii. Environmental Impact Assessment Process: Experts in conducting and carrying out Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and preparation of Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) and other Management plans and who have wide expertise and knowledge of predictive techniques and tools used in the EIA process iv. Risk Assessment v. Life Science (Floral and Faunal Management) or Forestry and Wildlife vi. Environmental Economics with experience in project appraisal vii. Public Administration or Management covering various developmental sectors and environmental issues. 3. The Membership of the EAC or SEAC shall not exceed fifteen Members, including the Member Secretary. However, the Chairperson may co-opt expert(s) for assisting the EAC or SEAC in any particular matter(s). 4. The Chairperson shall be an eminent person having experience in environmental policy or environmental management. 5. The Chairperson shall nominate one of the Members as Vice-Chairperson to preside over the EAC or SEAC in the absence of the Chairperson. 6. A representative of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change or State Government shall officiate as Member Secretary of EAC or SEAC respectively. The Central Government, based on the recommendations of the State Government concerned, may replace the Member Secretary of the SEIAA or SEAC, on account of administrative reasons. 7. The maximum tenure a Member, including Chairperson, can serve in any of the EACs or SEACs or SEIAAs, in totality, shall be for two terms of maximum four years each, provided they are not more than seventy years of age at the time of appointment. However, in exceptional cases, in the event of justification provided for non-availability of or paucity of experts in a given field, the maximum age of the Chairperson or Member may be allowed up to seventy five years at the time of appointment. 8. The Chairman or Members of the aforesaid Committees and/or Authority namely EAC, SEAC and SEIAA shall not be removed by the Central Government, prior to expiry of the tenure, except on account of proven charges which affect the functioning of the aforesaid Committees and/or Authority in a just, efficient and fair manner. The charges may include delay in processing the proposals for grant or rejection of EC beyond the timelines specified in the EIA Notification, 2006, as amended. [F. No. IA3-22/21/2025-IA.III] RAJAT AGARWAL, Jt. Secy. Note: The principal notification was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary Part-II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii) vide, number S.O. 1533(E), dated the 14th September, 2006 and last amended vide the notification number S.O. 389(E), dated the 28th January, 2026. Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri, New Delhi-110064 and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi-110054.