Mandatory Requirements - Environment T E A, 2003: HE Lectricity CT
Mandatory Requirements - Environment T E A, 2003: HE Lectricity CT
Mandatory Requirements - Environment T E A, 2003: HE Lectricity CT
This Act seeks to create a framework for the power sector development by
measures conducive to the industry. Electricity Act does not explicitly deal with
environmental implications of activities related to power transmission. However,
POWERGRID integrates environmental protection as a part of its project activities.
Power transmission schemes are planned in such a way that the power of eminent
domain is exercised responsibly. The applicable legal provisions under this Act are
as follows:
The main features of The Electricity Act, 2003 are provided in Appendix-I.
This Act provides for the conservation of forests and regulating diversion of
forestlands for non-forestry purposes.
When transmission projects falls within forestlands, prior clearance is required from
relevant authorities under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. State governments
cannot de-reserve any forestland or authorise its use for any non-forest purposes
without approval from the Central government. The flow chart for forest clearance
as per this law is provided in Appendix -II. The steps for forest clearance are
briefly described below:
A) ROUTE ALIGNMENT
Preliminary route selection for transmission lines is done by using tools such as the
forest atlas and Survey of India maps. During route alignment, all possible efforts
are made to avoid the forest area (like national park and sanctuaries) or to keep it
to the barest minimum. Whenever it becomes unavoidable due to the geography of
terrain or heavy cost involved in avoiding it, different alternative options are
considered to minimize the requirement of forest area. Modern tools like GIS/GPS
are used for finalization of route. For selection of optimum route, the following
criteria are taken into consideration:
(ii) the route of the proposed transmission lines does not involve any human
habitation;
(iii) any monument of cultural or historical importance is not affected by the route
of the transmission line;
(iv) the proposed route of transmission line does not create any threat to the
survival of any community with special reference to Tribal Community;
(v) the proposed route of transmission line does not affect any public utility
services such as playgrounds, schools and other establishments;
(vi) the line route does not pass through any sanctuaries, National Park, Biosphere
reserves or eco-sensitive zones; and
(vii) the line route does not infringe with area of natural resources.
B) RIGHT OF WAY
Right of Way (ROW) width depends on the line voltage. A maximum width of ROW
for transmission lines on forest land and minimum clearances between conductors
and trees to be adhered in route selection as specified in IS: 5613 and by the MoEF
guidelines given in Table 2.1.
At present, a width clearance of 3 meter is allowed below each conductor for the
movement of tension stringing equipment. Proposal to increase width area for 400
KV and above lines, based on the type of conductor used (3m for twin, 5 m for
triple and 7 m for quad conductor), is under consideration with MoEF. Trees on such
strips are felled but after stringing is complete and natural regeneration is allowed
to specific heights and whenever required the tree plantation is taken. Forest
department is requested to undertake felling, pollarding, and pruning of trees for
electrical clearance, whenever necessary, under the advice of POWERGRID. One
strip is left clear of vegetation to allow for maintenance of the transmission line
(Appendix –III).
D) APPROVAL OF PROPOSAL
The proposal is submitted to the state forest department and then forwarded to the
principal chief conservator of forests in the state and finally to the state secretariat.
The State Government recommends the proposal for further processing and
approval to
a) Concerned Regional Office of the MoEF if the area involved is 40 hectare
or less
b) MoEF, New Delhi if the area is more than 40 hectare.
Forest
Forest Proposal
Proposal (FP)
(FP)
Submitted To
State
State Forest
Forest Department
Department
Principal
Principal Chief
Chief Conservator
Conservator
State
State Secretariat
Secretariat
(Forest
(Forest Secretary)
Secretary)
MoEF
MoEF
(Government
(Government of
of India)
India)
Area
Area << 55 ha
ha Area
Area >> 55 << 40
40 ha
ha Area
Area >> 40
40 ha
ha Area
Area >> 100
100 ha
ha
Processing
Processing and
and Processing
Processing byby MoEF
MoEF Processing
Processing by
by Processing
Processing byby
approval
approval by
by regional office
regional office Forest
ForestAdvisory
Advisory Forest
ForestAdvisory
Advisory
MoEF
MoEF regional
regional through
through its
its state
state Committee
Committee atat Committee
Committee at at
office
office advisory
advisory groups/
groups/ MoEF
MoEF MoEF
MoEF
empowered
empowered Approval
Approval by
by Additional
Additional
committee
committee Minister
Minister of
of inspection
inspection MoEF
MoEF
Approval
Approval byby Minister
Minister Environment
Environment andand regional
regional office
office
of
of Environment
Environment and and Forests
Forests Approval
Approval byby
Forests
Forests Minister
Minister of
of
Environment
Environment and and
Forests
Forests
The MoEF approves the proposal in two stages. In principle or first stage approval
is accorded with certain conditions depending upon the case. Second stage, or final
approval is accorded by the MoEF after receiving the compliance report from State
Government (Appendix -II).
Supreme Court of India has delivered certain judgment for conservation of
environment as well as interpreting provisions of acts/laws. MoEF in compliance of
these decisions had amended the guidelines/rules, which are mandatory. Key
environmental legislations are provided in Appendix – VII.
Since transmission line projects are non polluting in nature and do not involve any
disposal of solid waste, effluents and hazardous substances on land, air and water,
so limited requirements of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 are applicable.
However, through a notification dated May 7, 1992 under the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986 power transmission projects located in two districts in the
Aravalli Range (viz., Alwar in Rajasthan and Gurgaon in Haryana will require
environmental clearance from the MoEF.
Other rules and regulations under the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986
applicable to the operation of POWERGRID are described below:
MoEF vide its notification dt. 16th May, 2001 under Section 6, 8 and 25 of the
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 has put certain restriction on disposal of used
batteries and its handling. As per the notification it is the responsibility of bulk
consumer (POWERGRID) to ensure that the used batteries are disposed at or
deposited with the dealer, manufacturer or to registered recycler for handling and
disposal. A half-yearly return is filed as per form-8 (Appendix -IX) to the
concerned State Pollution Control Board.
These Rules classify used mineral oil as hazardous waste under the Hazardous
Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2003 that requires proper handling and
disposal. The requirements for disposal of used mineral oil as per these Rules are as
follows
The used oil can be sent / sold for re-refining to registered recyclers, if it
meets the specification in Schedule –5 (refer Appendix X).
The waste oil which is not suitable for re-refining (i.e. does not meet the
specifications listed in Schedule-5), can be used in furnaces if it meets the
specifications laid down in Schedule –6 (refer Appendix X)
Any waste oil which does not meet the specification in Schedule–6 shall not
be auctioned or sold, but shall be disposed in hazardous waste incinerator.
Used mineral oil generated at the POWERGRID substations meet the requirements
of Schedule 5 of the above Rules. POWERGRID will seek authorisation for disposal
of hazardous waste from concerned State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB) as and
when required. This oil will be auctioned to authorised/registered re-refiners and
submit the information to the respective SPCB in Form – 13 as per Appendix XI.
MoEF vide its notification dt. 17 th July, 2000 under the section of 6, 8 and 25 of the
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 has notified rules for regulation/ control of
Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) under Montreal Protocol. As per the notification
certain control and regulation has been imposed on manufacturing, import, export,
and use of these compounds. POWERGRID is following provisions of notification and
is phasing out all equipment, which uses these substances, and is aiming at CFC
free organisation in near future.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has enacted the Biological Diversity Act,
2002 under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity signed at Rio de
Janeiro on the 5th day of June, 1992 of which India is also a party.
This Act is to “provide for the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of
its components, and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the
sued of biological resources, knowledge and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto.”
As per the provision of act certain areas, which are rich in biodiversity and
encompasses unique and representative ecosystems are identified and designated
as biosphere reserve to facilitate its conservation. All restrictions applicable to
protected areas like National Park & Sanctuaries are also applicable to these
reserves.
POWERGRID abides by the provision of act wherever applicable and try avoiding
these biosphere reserves while finalising the route alignment.
The funding agencies policy and procedures for environmental assessment (EA) of
different developmental projects are outlined in these policies and guidelines. All
these guidelines classified developmental projects into three categories (A-C) based
on its possible environmental and social impacts though WB & ADB has another
category F1 applicable only to projects involving a credit line through a financial
intermediary. Brief description of three major categories is as under:
Category B: Projects having some adverse impacts that are not as significant as of
Category-A projects. These impacts are generally site specific and addressed
through carefully designed mitigating measures. These projects do not require full
EIA but would normally require an environmental review through Initial
Environmental Assessment (WB) or Initial Environment Examination (ADB)
guidelines.
Transmission line projects fall under Category-B, having limited impact, which are
minimized through mitigation/ management measures and, therefore, require only
an environmental review. However, due to the size of the investment, and its
spread over to substantive portion of the country and its importance to the National
Grid in India, POWERGRID projects might be considered under category-A and may
be subjected to Environmental Assessment (EA).
The Constitution of India provides for protection of the environment and its
improvement as Fundamental Duty (Article 51 A (g)) and the Directive Principle of
State Policy (Article 48 A). In recent times, courts have enlarged the scope of
Article 21 (Right to Life) bringing environmental impacts under its ambit.
POWERGRID’s ESPP ensures that their projects scrupulously honour said
constitutional directives in principle and in practice.
A) POLLUTION LAWS
India initiated legislation and set up pollution control institutions between late
1970s and early 1980s. As a result, air emission and water effluent standards for
various activities were established. Boards ( PCBs) were set up under these laws to
control emissions, sewage, and industrial effluent by approving, rejecting, or
conditioning applications for “Consent to Establish” and “Consent to Operate”.
POWERGRID, by the very nature of its operations, is not involved with activities
that are grossly polluting in nature. Even then, its approach is to aim for “Zero
Pollution” in its projects, irrespective of a compliance requirement.
POWERGRID follows the rules and notifications under the Environment (Protection)
Act 1986, which prescribes the Ambient Air Quality Standards with respect to noise
and functions within permissible levels as prescribed by Indian and International
standards.
POWERGRID is fully conscious of the need to conserve the natural resources and
avoids ecologically sensitive areas as far as possible. In case traversing forestland
is unavoidable, clearance from forest authorities is obtained under the Forest
(Conservation) Act, 1980. Other relevant legislations having bearing on the
proposal of POWERGRID are:
Indian Forest Act 1927, which classifies forests and controls extraction and
transit of timber and other forest produce
Forest (Conservation) Act 1980 places restrictions on state governments
concerning diversion of forestlands for non-forest purposes
National Forest Policy 1988 envisages people’s involvement in development and
protection of forests
Wildlife Protection Act 1972 deals with the management of protected areas
(national park and sanctuaries). It contains provisions for controlling trade in
wildlife products, including ban on hunting of specified animals.
Appendix VIII illustrates relevant excerpts from the laws related to natural
resources.
RELEVANT POLICIES
Besides these rules and notifications, there is a proactive policy framework e.g.
National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and
Development, 1992, and Policy statement for Abatement of Pollution, 1992, Wildlife
Strategy 2002-15,
POWERGRID ensures that these policies are adhered to and maintains monitoring
procedures that comply with environmental legislations in the country.
IMPLEMENTING AGENCIES
The nodal agency at the centre for planning, promoting, and coordinating
environmental programmes is the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
POWERGRID interfaces with MoEF at central, regional and state level. The Central
Pollution Control Board executes executive responsibilities for prevention and
control of industrial pollution. Correspondingly, there are State Departments of
Environment and State Pollution Control Boards to perform the above functions at
the State level. As power transmission is inherently a non-polluting industry,
interaction with these boards is not anticipated. Due to liberalisation, POWERGRID’s
activities may require international interface and would honour the international
regimes as covenanted by the GoI.
POWERGRID maintains safety as a top priority, apart from various labour laws
dealing with workers’ health and safety such as the Workman’s Compensation Act.
POWERGRID has a dedicated unit to oversee all health and safety aspects of its
project under the Operation Service Department and has framed guidelines/
checklist for workers’ safety as its personnel are exposed to live EHV apparatus and
transmission lines. These guidelines include work permits and safety precautions for
work on the transmission lines during construction and operation. See Appendix
XII for detailed checklist.
There have been some concerns about the possibility of an increased risk of cancer
from exposure to electromagnetic radiations from overhead transmission lines. A
World Health Organisation (WHO) review held as part of the International EMF
Project (1996) concluded that:
“From the current scientific literature there is no convincing evidence that exposure
to radiation field shortens the life span of humans or induces or promotes cancer”.
The magnetic field below 400 kV overhead power transmission lines is estimated at
40 T. The ICNIRP guidelines present limiting exposure to EMFs, although it adds
that the levels quoted should not be interpreted as distinguishing ‘safe’ from
‘unsafe’ EMF levels. The ICNIRP guideline for the general public (up to 24 hours a
day) is a maximum exposure level of 1,000 mG or 100 T. A study carried out by
Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) on POWERGRID lines reveals that the EMF
about 1 m above ground near a 400 kV single circuit transmission line range from
3–7.2 T in the RoW. The impact of EMF is also dependent on the duration of
exposure and therefore no significant adverse impact is envisaged. POWERGRID
complies with international norms for field strength limits, which are certified by
Power Technologies Inc. (Appendix –XIII).
MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS - SOCIAL
Ministry of Rural Development, GOI, notified the National policy in February 2004.
It is applicable to all developmental projects where 500 or more families enmass in
plain areas or 250 or more families enmass in hilly areas, are displaced due to a
project activity.
It essentially addresses the rehabilitation of PAFs and provides a broad canvas for
an effective consultation between PAFs and the project authorities. It has also listed
R&R measures and entitlements for different category of PAFs.
The national policy on R&R is not attracted by the transmission projects, as these
do not involve displacement of such a large numbers of families. However,
POWERGRID has adopted entitlement benefits listed in the national R&R policy in its
“Social Entitlement Framework” that is being implemented wherever land
acquisition for substations is undertaken. As such, no EMF exposure guidelines exist
in the country,
TABLE 2.2: POWERGRID’S ACTIVITY CHART FOR LAND ACQUISITION AND R&R
ACTIVITY
Submission of cases for land acquisition
Section 4 notification
Spot verifications
Scope for objections from public
Publication of Section 6 declaration
Marking of land, notice to persons and award by Collector
Finalisation of R&R package
Payment of compensation and acquisition of land
Handing over land to POWERGRID
Implementation of RAP/SAMP at site
1.1 Extending R&R benefits to eligible families
1.2 Regular Monitoring of RAP implementation
Completion/Review of RAP Implementation
Land
Land Acquisition
Acquisition Process
Process R&R
R&R Framework
Framework
Selection
Selection of
of Socio-economic
Socio-economic surveysurvey
Substation Site
Substation Site (in
(in house if PAFs << 40
house if PAFs 40 or
or
Preliminary
Preliminary assessment
assessment rd
33 party
rd
party ifif PAF>
PAF> 40)
40)
Application
Application for
for Land
Land
acquisition to state Preparation
Preparation for
for survey
survey
acquisition to state
govt. (Finalisation
(Finalisation of
of
govt. through
through DM/DC
DM/DC
Consultant
Consultant for
for survey,
survey, ifif
required)
required)
SEC-4
SEC-4 Notification
Notification Commencement
Commencement of
of
survey
survey
SEC-6
SEC-6 Notification
Notification 33 months
months
SEC-9
SEC-9 Notification
Notification Survey
Survey Completion
Completion
Draft
Draft RAP/SAMP
RAP/SAMP
based
based on
on survey
survey
SEC-11
SEC-11 Award
Award findings
findings
Public
Public consultation
consultation on
on
Draft
Draft RAP
RAP
Disbursement
Disbursement of
of Finalisation
Finalisation of
of RAP/
RAP/
Compensation
Compensation SAMP
SAMP
SEC-16
SEC-16 possession
possession of
of Implementation
Implementation ofof
land
land RAP/
RAP/ SAMP
SAMP atat site
site
Commencement
Commencement of of
construction activity Completion
Completion of
of RAP
RAP //
construction activity
SAMP implementation
SAMP implementation
Monitoring
Monitoring by
by
RHQ
RHQ // ESMD
ESMD
MIS
MIS
(Monthly
(Monthly Progress
Progress
Periodic
Periodic review
review by
by report)
report)
Management
Management
POWERGRID’S SOCIAL ENTITLEMENT FRAMEWORK
loss of land;
loss of structure;
loss of source of livelihood;
loss of access to common resources and facilities;
loss of standing crops and trees;
losses during transition of displaced persons/establishments; and
losses to host communities.
The definition of PAP includes people who lose land, livelihoods, homesteads,
structures, and access to resources, because of project activities.
POWERGRID will focus on the family unit, when and if, resettlement occurs in any
project and will adopt the entitlement framework given in Table 2.3 for its projects,
which is based on the national policy and other progressive directives emanating
from the government or the funding agency.
POWERGRID will maintain a time schedule for R&R, which will be dovetailed into the
project cycle, ensuring that implementation of the action plan is completed within
the first 12-15 month of project execution.
E) CUT-OFF DATES
Cut-off dates will be set out to identify eligible PAFs to prevent subsequent influx of
encroachers or others who wish to take advantage of R&R benefits. The cut-off date
shall normally be the date of the Section 4 notification under the LA Act.
F) BUDGET
The total cost of R&R including cost of compensation, relocation and rehabilitation,
social assessment, planning, implementation, supervision monitoring and
evaluation shall be included as the integral part of project cost to ensure so that
provision for adequate funds is to take up the R&R activity as per provisions of the
policy.
Public consultation will be an integral part pf the process throughout the planning
and execution of project (Appendix XVIII). The Environment and Social
Management Team (ESMT) will interact closely with State Authorities and district
administration while implementing the RAP. Although, responsibility of RAP
implementation lies with POWERGRID, but it may be entrusted to a reputed
institution (Govt. or Non Govt.) enjoying the confidence of the people in the area.
However, support of the State Authorities will be sought for administration as and
when required.
People of village in general and PAFs in particular are informed/apprised about the
existence of such committee during consultation process and are advised that in
case of any grievance regarding Land acquisition/RAP can approach Chairman &
Convenor of Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) or the site office of the
POWERGRID. Meeting of the GRC shall be convened within 15 days of receiving a
grievance for its discussion /solution. In case they are not satisfied with the
decision of GRC they can approach the DC or Court of law for solution.