ID: 2252
Presenting Author: Budhaditya Das
Session: 539 - EIA Litigation Around the World
Status: pending
India’s legal framework and litigation vis-à-vis Social Impact Assessments is analysed empirically for building a theory of change for improving procedural and substantive outcomes of SIAs.
With 1.428 billion people, a vibrant postcolonial democracy, 3.287 million square kilometres of land with diverse land-uses, ecosystems and 93 million land-dependent farming households, India represents one of the most challenging cases of environmental governance. This paper examines the framework for Social Impact Assessments (SIAs) under India’s national legislation for environmental protection and land expropriations on the parameters of sustainability, equity and justice. While the environment protection law mandates SIAs under the broader framework of EIA, the land expropriation statute simultaneously requires independent SIAs prior to the expropriation of land for infrastructure projects. The federal character of the Indian Constitution where land governance is shared between the national and subnational governments presents another layer of heterogeneity in practices, implementation and effectiveness of SIAs. Based on a comparative study of seven SIAs for infrastructure projects carried out by the author between 2017 and 2024 in the city-state of New Delhi, it is argued that the effectiveness of SIA process and outcomes depends on the interplay of four factors: (1) independent judicial oversight, (2) community capacity for litigation, (3) political will and democratic accountability, and (4) executive action. Litigation related to SIAs is examined through an analysis of court judgments related to environment protection. The paper contributes a theory of change for improving the procedural and substantive outcomes of SIA in order to mitigate environmental conflicts.
Dr. Budhaditya Das, Assistant Professor, School of Human Ecology, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi, is a teacher and practitioner of Social Impact Assessments in New Delhi, India.