Identify the correct statement :

Correct option is A

The correct answer is (a).

Introduction

In the statutory framework of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in India, the public hearing is a mandatory step that must be conducted after the preparation of the draft EIA report but strictly before the final environmental clearance is granted by the regulatory authority.

Information Booster

The public hearing provides a legal platform for locally affected persons and stakeholders to express their grievances and concerns regarding the project.
It is formally organized by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or the Union Territory Pollution Control Committee.
The draft EIA report and the executive summary (in English and the local language) must be made available to the public prior to the hearing.
The concerns raised during this consultation must be recorded and addressed in the final EIA report submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
Exemptions to public hearings are rare but exist for strategic defense projects or specific localized expansions.

Additional Knowledge

Conducting a public hearing before the EIA is prepared is illogical, as the public would have no scientific data or impact predictions to review or critique.
Site selection occurs much earlier in the project lifecycle, usually before the scoping phase, making a public hearing at this stage premature in the regulatory process.
The approval of Terms of Reference (ToR) happens during the scoping stage, which dictates what studies the EIA will conduct.
The public hearing evaluates the results of these studies, not the initial parameters.