Arrange the following steps in a typical EIA process in logical sequence (earliest

Question

Arrange the following steps in a typical EIA process in logical sequence (earliest

first):

L.

Decision-making and clearance

II. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) preparation

III. Scoping and baseline study

IV. Screening and project identification

Choose the correct sequence:

1. A. IV-III-II-I (Correct answer)
2. B. III-IV-II-I
3. C. IV-II-III-I
4. D. III-II-IV-I

Correct Answer

Option A — IV-III-II-I

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is IV-III-II-I.

Key Points

• The EIA process runs in a fixed logical order:
  • IV. Screening and project identification — deciding whether an EIA is required at all.
  • III. Scoping and baseline study — defining what to assess, then measuring existing conditions.
  • II. Environmental Impact Statement preparation — compiling the findings into the report.
  • I. Decision-making and clearance — the regulator grants, conditions or refuses approval.
• Each step supplies what the next one needs, so no other order is workable: you cannot scope before deciding an EIA is needed, cannot report before studying, and cannot decide before reading the report.

Additional Information

• The process does not end at clearance. Post-clearance monitoring and compliance reporting continue through construction and operation, with half-yearly reports to the regulator — the stage most often forgotten in exam answers.
• Between the EIS and the decision sits public consultation, comprising the public hearing at site and written submissions, and then appraisal by the expert committee.
• In India the four stages are named in the EIA Notification, 2006 as screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal.
• Ordering questions of this type are quickest to settle by fixing the first and last items — screening must open and the decision must close — which usually eliminates every option but one.