International Journal of Law

Authors
Arup Poddar

Abstract
Public hearing is one of the essential features of the environment impact assessment in India. Significance of the public hearing is immense, because of the fact that it encourages the project affected people to share their views with regard to industrial site and its operation. Public hearing would be successful, provided the outcome of such public consultation is incorporated in the final report with regard to feasibility of industrial site and its operation. Public hearing, may have no value, when the persons, who will come to appear for consultation process, are not at all aware of pros and cons of environmental degradation because of industrial operation. Public consultation has been made mandatory from the year 1997 in India. Under the new Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 conducting public hearing is a mandatory one. The present paper would like to analyse the process of public consultation in environmental protection regime.