ABSTRACT
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has evolved and become part of major developmental project requirements in many countries including India. The significance and relevance of EIA are often subjected to congenialities of economic development and ecological values. The methodology adopted is that of self-assessment by the project proponent followed by review and project approval by the regulators created by law. This is more apt in Indian context because it is one of the largest democratic country, rich bio-diversity and natural resources, traditional environmentalism and bureaucratic intervention of the state sponsored developmental projects regions of the world. This necessitates a vibrant EIA law and policy to realise the basic precepts of sustainable development. However, it is worth noting that environmental management is not achieved only through environmental laws but also through the application of various formal and informal administrative mechanisms. EIA was first introduced as regulatory requirement only in 1994 and amended in 2006 to balance economic development and environment protection to minimize the impact. The existing ontology of EIA law in India is glaringly conspicuous by its gross absence of socio-legal researches oriented to fill void of policy, law enforcement and development. With the background, the paper seek to examine the development of EIA law and policy and its translate into reality by the Supreme Court as well as the National Green Tribunal (NGT)as green institutional have developed a rich 268environmental jurisprudence in recent past from 2000–2017 in order to consider the importance of EIA process for achieving the sustainable development goals in coming future through their judicial decisions.
