ABSTRACT
Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) being a tool of sustainable development necessitates a vibrant legal policy for incorporation of man-made, natural and cultural heritage conservation. The EIA law in India is an off shoot of Environment Protection Act, 1986 and exists in the form of delegated legislation. The heritage conservation has escaped the attention of the legislature in framing the EIA law. The paper makes a case for refurbishing the legislative regime of EIA and heritage conservation by undertaking an in depth analysis of international and national heritage conservation laws to assess the course and direction of EIA law. The classical roots of the heritage conservation Laws despite its narrow focus can become a handy guide to promote rudimentary EIA principles. Concurrently the EIA law should also move beyond the desideratum of heritage conservation and come closer to biodiversity, cultural diversity and sustainable development.
