The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 is a subordinate legislative instrument issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), now the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), on September 14, 2006. It is a provision made under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, read with Rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986. The Notification's purpose is to mandate prior Environmental Clearance (EC) for new projects, or the expansion and modernization of existing ones, listed in its Schedule, to ensure environmentally safe and sustainable development.
The Notification replaced the earlier EIA Notification of 1994, which was criticized for its centralized approach and procedural weaknesses. The 2006 version aimed to create a more transparent, decentralized, and efficient regulatory mechanism. It fundamentally restructured the clearance process by categorizing projects into two types based on their potential impact: Category 'A' and Category 'B'. Category 'A' projects, which have a larger footprint, require clearance from the Central Government through the MoEFCC based on the recommendations of an Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC). Category 'B' projects are reviewed at the state level by the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), thereby decentralizing the process.
The procedural core of the Notification involves a four-stage process for projects: Screening, Scoping, Public Consultation, and Appraisal. Screening determines if a Category 'B' project requires a full EIA (B1) or not (B2). Scoping involves the EAC or SEAC prescribing the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the EIA report. Public Consultation includes a public hearing and written representations to ascertain the concerns of affected persons. The final stage, Appraisal, is the detailed scrutiny of the EIA report and public consultation outcomes before the regulatory authority grants or rejects the EC.
The Notification has been subject to several amendments, such as the one in 2016 and March 2021, which introduced the criteria of 'no increase in pollution load' for exempting certain changes in existing projects from requiring a fresh EC. More recently, an amendment in July 2026 introduced the creation of Standing Authorities (SAEIA) and Standing Committees (SCEIA) to assume the functions of non-functional SEIAAs and SEACs, aiming to resolve project appraisal delays while maintaining the decentralized structure.