Hindi English Translation || Editorial || A stellar fallacy: On hasty assessment of environmental costs

A stellar fallacy: On hasty assessment of environmental costs

Assessment of environmental costs, benefits of projects should not be done in haste (जल्दबाज, जल्दी)

A move by the Union Environment Ministry to implement a ‘star-rating system’ has sparked (cause, lead to, bring about, prompt, trigger) controversy after one of its official communiqués (शासकीय सूचना, आधिकारिक संचार) became public. Under this scheme, State-level environment committees that appraise industrial projects on their potential (संभावना) environmental risk would be incentivised (प्रोत्साहित, प्रेरित करना) with points for “transparency (पारदर्शिता, स्पष्टता, सीधापन), efficiency and accountability (जवाबदेही, जिम्मेदारी, दायित्व)”. This idea followed a Union Cabinet meeting this month to facilitate (आसान बनाना, संभव बनाना) the Government’s broader commitment to ‘Ease of Doing Business’. The Environmental Impact Assessment (मूल्यांकन) (EIA) is one of the cornerstones (mainstay, linchpin, backbone, central component) of ensuring that the ecological (relating to the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment) costs (लागत, हानि, कष्ट) of infrastructure (आधारिक संरचना, मूलभूत सुविधाएँ) development are minimal. Prospective (भावी, संभावित) projects above a certain size and with a potential (संभावना, मौका) to significantly (महत्वपूर्ण ढंग से, विशेष रूप से) alter the natural environment must be first approved by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) (State Environment Impact Assessment authority empowered to grant Environmental Clearance to mitigate pollution and protect environment which is essential pre-requisite in the process of starting new projects, expanding or modernizing existing projects falling under Category ‘B’ (notified by EIA Notification 2006 under sub-rule (3) of Rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986). To assist SEIAA, a State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) is constituted. The Expert Appraisal Committee scrutinize the projects and forward its recommendations to the SEIAA for taking a decision on granting Environmental Clearance) comprising State officers and independent experts. Projects that are even bigger or involve forest land — category A — must be cleared by an expert committee formed by the Centre. SEIAA projects make up the bulk of (थोक में, अधिकांश) projects for approval including building and construction, small mining (the extraction of valuable minerals (e.g. iron ore) or other geological materials (e.g. coal) from the Earth), small industry projects, and are considered ‘less polluting’.

The star rating system proposed is to “rank” and “incentivise” States on how quickly and “efficiently” they can accord (give, grant, present) environmental clearances (a procedure to get clearance from the government for certain projects which cause environmental pollution). It spells out seven criteria (basis, standard, norm, specification (criteria is the plural form of criterion)) to rate SEIAAs on “transparency, efficiency and accountability”. On a scale of 7, an SEIAA, for instance, gets more points for granting a clearance in less than 80 days than for within 105 days and no marks for more. A score of seven or more would be rated ‘five star’. However, a reading (interpretation, construal, understanding, explanation, analysis) of the order gives the impression (feeling, notion, idea, thought, opinion) that States, in the quest (pursuit, search) for more stars, would logically vie (compete, contend, contest, struggle, strive, fight (with others to do/achieve something)) for speedily clearing projects rather than (instead of) ensure a thorough (painstaking, methodical, careful, attentive, diligent, meticulous, scrupulous, assiduous) appraisal. The Environment Ministry, has said, in response to criticism, that the intention (aim, purpose, objective) is not to hasten (speed up, quicken, accelerate, expedite) clearances but accelerate the pace (speed, rate) of decision making. Rather than files being sent back for every query, all objections must be compiled (organize, arrange, put together, collate, assemble) and addressed (tackle, deal with, attend to, try to sort out) at one go, it contends (claim, argue, assert, affirm, insist, state). While quicker decision-making benefits everyone, State committees are currently hampered (hinder, obstruct, impede) by having too few independent experts and decision-making being left to bureaucrats (a powerful officer, public/government servant, office-bearer, civil servant, functionary, mandarin) than to environment specialists. Both industrialists and States gain from projects and, therefore, the tendency (inclination, disposition, leaning, penchant) is always to elide environmental concerns (issues). In many instances, site visits are critical to understand the potential environmental challenges. Calculating the risks and the benefits of industrial projects vis-à-vis (concerning, with regard to, in relation to, as/in comparison with, in connection with (Vis-à-vis from Latin via. French, means literally “face-to-face)) their environmental impact is understandably hard. The way forward is to take steps to increase trust in the system and ensure that all States have competent (capable, proficient, skilful, talented, knowledgeable, qualified, trained) experts who can conduct appraisals without fear or favour. A list of empty rankings is the least advisable way to bring about (cause, create, give rise to, produce) this.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.hasty (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - जल्दबाज, जल्दी
English Meaning - hurried, rapid/quick; reckless, ill-considered, ill-advised.

2.assessment (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मूल्यांकन
English Meaning - evaluation, appraisal.

3.cost (noun)

Hindi Meaning - लागत, हानि, कष्ट
English Meaning - loss, suffering, drawback, disadvantage.

4.communique (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शासकीय सूचना, आधिकारिक संचार
English Meaning - official communication, press release, bulletin.

5.potential (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - संभावना
English Meaning - possible, likely, probable.

6.incentivise (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रोत्साहित, प्रेरित करना
English Meaning - encourage, motivate, galvanize.

7.transparency (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पारदर्शिता, स्पष्टता, सीधापन
English Meaning - clarity, straightforwardness, openness, honesty, unambiguity.

8.accountability (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जवाबदेही, जिम्मेदारी, दायित्व
English Meaning - responsibility, liability, answerability.

9.facilitate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - आसान बनाना, संभव बनाना
English Meaning - make easy, make possible, enable, assist, help/aid.

10.Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पर्यावरण प्रभाव आकलन
English Meaning - a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.

11.infrastructure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आधारिक संरचना, मूलभूत सुविधाएँ
English Meaning - the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc.

12.prospective (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - भावी, संभावित
English Meaning - potential, possible, probable.

13.potential (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संभावना, मौका
English Meaning - possibility, chance.

14.significantly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - महत्वपूर्ण ढंग से, विशेष रूप से,
English Meaning - notably, importantly, crucially.

15.the bulk of (noun)

Hindi Meaning - थोक में, अधिकांश
English Meaning - most, larger part, larger number.

16.in haste (phrase)

English Meaning - quickly, rapidly, fast, speedily, with alacrity/urgency.

17.move (noun)

English Meaning - initiative, step, action, measure.

18.spark (verb)

English Meaning - cause, lead to, bring about, prompt, trigger.

19.stellar (adjective)

English Meaning - astonishing, astounding, stunning, staggering; sensational, breathtaking, exceptional, extraordinary, remarkable, outstanding.

20.fallacy (noun)

English Meaning - misconception, false idea/belief, mistaken belief, misbelief, false notion, misinterpretation, untruth.

21.Ease of Doing Business (noun)

English Meaning - it is about different parameters which define the ease of doing business in a country; (Ease of doing business index is annually published by the World Bank. Doing business ranking is based on quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency).

22.cornerstone (noun)

English Meaning - mainstay, linchpin, backbone, central component.

23.ecological (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment.

24.State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) (noun)

English Meaning - State Environment Impact Assessment authority empowered to grant Environmental Clearance to mitigate pollution and protect environment which is essential pre-requisite in the process of starting new projects, expanding or modernizing existing projects falling under Category ‘B’ (notified by EIA Notification 2006 under sub-rule (3) of Rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986). To assist SEIAA, a State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) is constituted. The Expert Appraisal Committee scrutinize the projects and forward its recommendations to the SEIAA for taking a decision on granting Environmental Clearance.

25.make up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - comprise, form, compose, constitute, account for.

26.mining (noun)

English Meaning - the extraction of valuable minerals (e.g. iron ore) or other geological materials (e.g. coal) from the Earth.

27.accord (verb)

English Meaning - give, grant, present.

28.environmental clearance (noun)

English Meaning - a procedure to get clearance from the government for certain projects which cause environmental pollution.

29.spell out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - explain, make clear, elucidate, clarify.

30.criterion (noun)

English Meaning - basis, standard, norm, specification (criteria is the plural form of criterion).

31.for instance (phrase)

English Meaning - as an example.

32.reading (noun)

English Meaning - interpretation, construal, understanding, explanation, analysis.

33.impression (noun)

English Meaning - feeling, notion, idea, thought, opinion.

34.quest (noun)

English Meaning - pursuit, search.

35.vie (verb)

English Meaning - compete, contend, contest, struggle, strive, fight (with others to do/achieve something).

36.rather than (phrase)

English Meaning - instead of.

37.thorough (adjective)

English Meaning - painstaking, methodical, careful, attentive, diligent, meticulous, scrupulous, assiduous.

38.intention (noun)

English Meaning - aim, purpose, objective.

39.hasten (verb)

English Meaning - speed up, quicken, accelerate, expedite.

40.accelerate (verb)

English Meaning - increase, escalate, expedite.

41.pace (noun)

English Meaning - speed, rate.

42.objection (noun)

English Meaning - objection, opposition, argument, disapproval, disagreement, complaint, grievance.

43.compile (verb)

English Meaning - organize, arrange, put together, collate, assemble.

44.address (verb)

English Meaning - tackle, deal with, attend to, try to sort out.

45.in/at one go (phrase)

English Meaning - in one attempt.

46.contend (verb)

English Meaning - claim, argue, assert, affirm, insist, state.

47.hamper (verb)

English Meaning - hinder, obstruct, impede.

48.bureaucrat (noun)

English Meaning - a powerful officer, public/government servant, office-bearer, civil servant, functionary, mandarin.

49.tendency (noun)

English Meaning - inclination, disposition, leaning, penchant.

50.elide (verb)

English Meaning - leave out, exclude, fail to include.

51.concerns (noun)

English Meaning - issues.

52.vis-à-vis (preposition)

English Meaning - concerning, with regard to, in relation to, as/in comparison with, in connection with (Vis-à-vis from Latin via. French, means literally “face-to-face).

53.the way forward (phrase)

English Meaning - something (a plan/action) that leads to success in the future.

54.competent (adjective)

English Meaning - capable, proficient, skilful, talented, knowledgeable, qualified, trained.

55.favour (noun)

English Meaning - favouritism, bias, partiality, prejudice, partisanship, one-sidedness.

56.bring about (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - cause, create, give rise to, produce.