Bengaluru Experts Oppose Relaxed Rules For Environmental Body Appointments

On July 13, 2026, environmental experts in Bengaluru strongly criticized the central government’s recent amendments to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. The changes relax the eligibility criteria for appointing chairpersons and members of key environmental bodies, specifically the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), which grant environmental clearances for developmental projects.

Under the revised provisions, graduates from any discipline—including those with Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Laws (LLM), and Chartered Accountancy (CA) degrees, or civil service training—are now eligible to be appointed to these critical roles. Previously, the original 2006 notification mandated that members of these committees possess specialized expertise in technical domains directly relevant to environmental assessment.

These bodies are expected to handle highly technical areas such as environmental quality monitoring, sectoral project management, impact assessment processes, risk analysis, and biodiversity evaluation. Experts argue that individuals with general qualifications cannot adequately fulfill these responsibilities without the specialized expertise mandated in Appendix 6 of the EIA Notification.

Dr. Dodda Aswathanarayana Swamy, a retired environmental officer with the Karnataka State Government, opposed the changes. He stated that any person with general degrees or civil service training cannot properly appraise projects because they lack the required qualifications in the respective disciplines and fields indicated in the notification.

Dr. A.N. Yellappa Reddy, a renowned environmentalist, also came down heavily on the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for drafting the amendments. He opined that the changes were merely intended as a means to generate revenue by increasing competition among prospective candidates, alleging that the exercise is designed to select those who pay more money.

Emphasizing the importance of specialized knowledge, environmental expert Ganeshan Rajan stated that environmental impact assessment is not like sanctioning or allocating funds to a developmental project. He argued that the chairpersons and members of SEAC and SEIAA must have the required qualifications in their respective fields, adding his voice to those opposing the amendments.