Section 27 - Indian Antarctic Act, 2022

The Indian Antarctic Act, 2022

Chapter V

Grant, Suspension or Cancellation of Permit

27. Application for permit.-

(1) Every application for grant of permit under this Act shall be made to the Committee in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

(2) Every application under sub-section (1) shall be in such form, contain such particulars and be accompanied by such fees as may be prescribed.

(3) The Committee may, after making such inquiry as it deems fit and having regard to the particulars referred to in sub-section (4) and subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed, grant permit for the purposes of this Act.

(4) While granting permit under sub-section (3), the Committee shall have regard to the following matters, namely:-

(a) adverse effect on climate or weather patterns;

(b) adverse effect on air, snow, soil, land or water quality;

(c) significant changes in the atmospheric, terrestrial, aquatic, glacial, noise or marine environment;

(d) harmful changes in the distribution, abundance or productivity of native microbes, animal or plant species or their population;

(e) harm or jeopardise endangered species or population;

(f) harm or significantly jeopardise the areas of environmental, biological, geological, scientific, historic, wilderness or aesthetic significance or of a primeval nature; and

(g) such other significant detrimental effects on the Antarctic environment and its dependent and associated ecosystems as may be prescribed.

(5) The Committee shall, before issuing a permit, require the applicant to carry out the environmental impact assessment of the proposed activities in such manner as may be prescribed and shall issue a permit if the conditions specified therein has been complied with:

Provided that any application for a permit relating to activities in Antarctica which has reasonable apprehension of causing less than a minor or transitory impact on the environment shall be made to the Committee six months prior to the commencement of the proposed activity:

Provided further that while examining an activity, the Committee shall take into account the opinion of the independent experts:

Provided also that if after examination, the Committee is satisfied that such activity has reasonable apprehension of causing minor or transitory impact on the environment, then it shall require the applicant to conduct an Initial Environmental Evaluation and to submit a report thereon to it, three months prior to the commencement of the proposed activity:

Provided also that if after conducting the Initial Environmental Evaluation, the Committee is of the opinion that the activities will have more than a minor or transitory impact on the environment, it shall require the applicant to conduct a Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation and to submit a report thereon.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Committee shall not grant a permit under this section authorising any person or a vessel or an aircraft on an Indian expedition, unless it is satisfied that a waste management plan and an emergency plan for the expedition have been prepared in such manner as may be prescribed:

Provided that the waste management plan shall include details of such wastes which are intended to be shipped from Antarctica into the Indian territory or territory of any other Party for disposal.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this sub-section,-

(i) "waste management plan" means the waste management plan referred to in sub-section (3) of section 34;

(ii) "emergency plan" means a plan to meet the environmental emergency referred to in section 39.

(7) The permit granted under this section, unless sooner revoked, shall remain in force for such period as specified in the permit and may be renewed, on an application made in this behalf sixty days before the date of its expiration, for such period and on payment of such fees as may be prescribed:

Provided that a permit may be renewed on an application made within sixty days before the date of its expiration, if the Committee is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not making the application on time.