Policy Resources
A beginner’s guide to accessing information on conservation related policies and upcoming projects in India
One of the key findings of the Central Indian Landscape Symposium held at Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) in December 2016 was that scientists and researchers often have little idea about legal and policy frameworks that can have a big impact on conservation. To redress this gap, the Policy Working Group of the Network for Conservation in Central India (NCCI) began compiling resources that would help reduce this gap.
We will continue to update this document as we identify further resources, and recommend that researchers keep in touch with individuals, NGOs, and civil societies active in the region. Please email any further resources and recommendations to Trishna Dutta and Meghna Agarwala with the subject line: Policy Working Group of NCCI.
The resources compiled by the NCCI Policy Working Group are of two types:
1. Websites that track new bills, existing policies and relevant laws
2. Websites that keep track of project clearances
Many projects need clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). A project may need both environmental and forest clearance, or either of these clearances, depending on the location and nature of the proposed project.
One of the key findings of the Central Indian Landscape Symposium held at Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) in December 2016 was that scientists and researchers often have little idea about legal and policy frameworks that can have a big impact on conservation. To redress this gap, the Policy Working Group of the Network for Conservation in Central India (NCCI) began compiling resources that would help reduce this gap.
We will continue to update this document as we identify further resources, and recommend that researchers keep in touch with individuals, NGOs, and civil societies active in the region. Please email any further resources and recommendations to Trishna Dutta and Meghna Agarwala with the subject line: Policy Working Group of NCCI.
The resources compiled by the NCCI Policy Working Group are of two types:
- Websites that track new bills, existing policies and relevant laws
- Websites that keep track of project clearances
1. Websites that track new bills, existing policies and relevant laws
- PRS Legislative Research (PRS) PRS was founded in 2005 as an independent research initiative incubated by a leading think tank in New Delhi called the Centre for Policy Research. It seeks to strengthen the legislative process by making it more transparent and participatory, and make the public better informed. Through its work, PRS aims to “increase public engagement in the legislative process and on issues of national importance. This is done by providing information on policy issues, legislative analysis and parliamentary processes in the public domain and through collaborative activities with citizens’ groups and the media.“
For beginners, the PRS website is a good resource for a general overview of laws, policies, bills, and blogs. It is useful to learn about the life-cycle of a law. It lists bills, summaries, standing committee reports, and the status of each. You can track bills under different subject areas on the website. Because the website is not specifically for the environment or conservation sector, you will need to search for relevant information. For example: Science, Energy, mines, and the environment ; Agriculture and rural development; Transport, tourism, and urban development; etc. You can access PRS blogs, report summaries and track your Member of Parliament or MLA by state.
2. Websites that keep track of project clearances
Many projects need clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). A project may need both environmental and forest clearance, or either of these clearances, depending on the location and nature of the proposed project.
- The Forestsclearance website of MoEFCC is an online portal for submitting and monitoring projects that require forest land diversion. You can search by state, year, category and projects that also need an environmental clearance.
- The Environmenclearance website of MoEFCC is an online portal for submitting and monitoring environmental and CRZ (coastal regulation zone) clearances. You can view details of the status of projects by state, year, type of project and then click on the files to read more details about the project. Other information on decision-making panels, various notifications, court orders, EIA related information, contact details, meeting minutes, committees for the different project classifications, and details on the process to apply for clearance are also available on the website.
- Greenclearancewatch (GCW) is an initiative of the Centre for Science and Environment that bolsters the organization’s sustained effort towards ensuring an environmentally sustainable and equitable development and helping communities be a part of the decision making process. Following the pressing need for increased transparency in the environmental and forest clearance regime in India, the GCW portal has been developed as a one-stop resource base through which they attempt to put up information and statistics related to the process of environmental clearance since April 2007 and forest clearances in future. You can search by project type, read policy analyses, public hearings, court proceedings, etc.
