India - Strengthening Institutions for Sustainable Growth : Country Environmental Analysis

Abstract

The objective of this Country Environmental Analysis was to help strengthen the environmental policy implementation framework, to meet the challenges of a rapidly growing and extraordinarily diverse economy in India. In particular, the study aimed at assisting with the implementation of the new National Environment Policy (NEP 2006), which was released in draft for public consultation at the time this study was initiated. This study focused on identifying and proposing ways to address major gaps in the existing institutional arrangements, as well as regulations and incentives for post-EM environmental compliance and performance. In view of the focus on the growth-environment nexus, the study covered three select sectors - industry, power (including three distinct sub-sectors: coal-based power generation, hydro power generation, and transmission), and highways - that are among the key drivers of growth. Together, these sectors represent a wide range of environmental impacts, sources and regulatory issues that allows drawing conclusions of broad relevance. The analytical framework used by this study was a combination of sector-wide reviews, based on secondary data of issues, policies, regulations and institutions, with several case studies of implementation experiences. Ranging across seven Indian States, the project-level case studies helped to gain a deeper understanding of barriers, as well as contributors, to better environmental compliance and performance in the real-life situation. The case studies involved primary data collection and consultations with local stakeholders. Selective reviews of international experience in environmental management were also conducted. The findings from all reviews and case studies have been integrated to leverage support for corrective actions building on a growing number of good practices in India and internationally. The key findings and recommendations of the study are grouped under five themes: (i) facilitating national dialogue and public participation; (ii) expanding the regulatory toolkit to enable environmental compliance; (iii) strengthening the capacity o f environmental agencies to meet the growing demands, (iv) aligning sectoral incentives with environmental priorities; and (v) working across sectors.