India's Hydrocarbon Outlook – 2022-2023

172 DGH: 3 DECADES OF UNLOCKING INDIA'S HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL December 2021: Streamlining EC Transfer, Application for B2 Projects MoEF&CC vide OM dated 10th December 2021 clarified the procedure for handling EC transfer cases as per the provisions of S.O. 2817 (E) dtd 13th July 2021. Wrt the above, a provision has been made that the prior EC vested with the previous lessee shall be deemed to have been transferred during its validity period in terms of the MMDR Act, 1957 to the successful bidder of the mining leases, from the date of commencement of new lease for the remaining validity period. The provision is also subject to the new lessee registering online on PARIVESH portal along with an undertaking to comply with all the conditions of the transferred EC. This has eased out the process of EC transfer from one project proponent to another. 15 th December 2021: EC application form for B2 projects was released by MoEF&CC to enable them to fill in the application. Upstream industry is supposed to fill Form-2 on PARIVESH in case the proponents are going for an exploration surveys. 8.1.4 Year 2022 April 2022: Streamlining Composite Clearance Composite Clearance (Category A) for Exploration, Development and Production under Schedule to EIA Notification 2020: MoEFCC vide OM dated 26.04.2022 notified that any project that requires EC under Category ‘A’ require to proceed through the following channels: Application at CZMA by PP Recommendation of CZMA Application for EC+CRZ at concerned sector of the IA division of Ministry Comments of CRZ sector in the Ministry Recommendation of Sectoral EAC for EC+CRZ Combined Clearance by Ministry (EC+CRZ) However, if any project is located in CRZ area that requires EC under Category ‘B’, then the approving authority shall be SEIAA and the clearance shall be routed as illustrated below: Application at Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZM) by the PP Recommendation of CZMA Application in the concerned SEIAA Recommendation of SEAC for EC & CRZ Clearance by SEIAA (EC & CRZ). May 2022: Rationalization of Validity of EC The Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment in W.P. (C) No. 202 of 1995 in the Lafarge case pronounced inter-alia that the EC in respect of projects involving forest land will be granted after the project proponent obtains Stage-I Forest Clearance (FC) in respect of the forest land involved in the project, so that fait accompli situation does not arise. Inline with the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the Ministry grants EC only after the grant of Stage-I FC, even while the projects/activities get appraised in anticipation of grant of FC. As per the provisions of FCA, 1980, the FC for the forest land is granted in two stages, i.e., In-principle or Stage-I approval Stage-II approval (on compliance of the conditions of Stage-I approval). The project proponent can start the work at site only after getting the Stage-II FC in addition to the other statutory permissions/approvals under the various Acts/Rules. It was analysed that FC approval used to incur inordinate delays. The MoEF&CC rationalised the impact of the time taken in obtaining Stage- II FC, on the validity of EC. In this context, it was decided that the time taken for obtaining Stage- II FC, after the grant of EC, may not be considered as a part of the EC validity upto a maximum of two (02) years, so as not to compromise with the environmental safeguards. For the projects which involve forest land and require Stage-I and Stage-II FC under the provisions of the FCA, 1980, the validity period of the prior EC granted [after Stage-I FC], shall be reckoned from the date of grant of Stage-II FC, or a maximum period of two (02) years, whichever is less.