Cement Industry is necessary for the growth of the economy. At the same time it contributes substantially to the air pollution problem of the area around. Modern cement industries have taken measures to control the air pollution effect. No doubt that the industrial units are responsible for the overall socio-economic growth of the locality. They have the obligationto take up community development programme under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Nevertheless, the study shows that the perception of the local people was not very favourable.

In a bid to fast-track environmental clearances for industrial projects, the Narendra Modi government constituted a high-level committee in 2014 under T S R Subramanian to review key environmental laws. In the context of the controversial recommendations made by the T S R Subramanian Committee to ease environmental norms and dilute people’s participation in environmental governance to stimulate economic development, the article takes a critical look at the functioning of the Environmental Impact Assessment regime in India since its inception in 1994.