An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is prepared:

Question

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is prepared:

1. A. Only after project completion
2. B. As a detailed written report summarizing the results of EIA, normally submitted with EIA notification (Correct answer)
3. C. By the public, not by the consultant
4. D. Optionally, without any statutory backing

Correct Answer

Option B — As a detailed written report summarizing the results of EIA, normally submitted with EIA notification

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is As a detailed written report summarizing the results of the EIA study.

Key Points

• The Environmental Impact Statement is the document that reports the EIA. It sets out the project description, the baseline environmental conditions, the predicted impacts, the alternatives considered, the proposed mitigation and the Environment Management Plan.
• It is prepared before a decision is taken, by the project proponent through accredited consultants, and it has statutory backing under the EIA Notification, 2006.
• Each rejected option contradicts one of those facts — preparation after completion, authorship by the public, or the absence of legal standing.

Additional Information

• The relationship between the three terms is worth fixing precisely: EIA is the process, the EIS is the report that documents it, and the EMP is the action plan contained within that report.
• The EIS is the document placed in the public domain for the public hearing, so it must include a non-technical executive summary in the local language — the provision that makes public participation meaningful rather than nominal.
• In India, consultants preparing it must be accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET) under the Quality Council of India.
• The EIS also documents the "no project" alternative, which is what allows an appraisal committee to judge whether the project's benefits justify its residual impacts.