It was in 1994 that the Union ministry of environment and forests (moef) came out with a notification on environmental impact assessment (eia). The assessment became mandatory for certain kinds of industrial and developmental activities to obtain environmental clearance from the Central government.
This was a progressive step. The idea was to evaluate the potential impacts
Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/feature-article/clearance-process
[2] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/newspaper/down-earth
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/environment
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/mining
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/dams
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/ministry-environment-and-forests-moef
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/india
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/environment-impact-assessment-eia