Negatives:

♤ ESP is a clever attempt to legalize EIA violation and gain corporate confidence, thereby allowing violator to damage the environment and circumvent the EIA process.

♤ Among all cases filed in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), around 41% are cases where the NGT found faults with an EIA assessment. Thus, EIA violation is a major in developmental projects. Allowing such violators to carry on, defeats the ultimate purpose of EIA.

♤ Many experts argue that this indirectly allows pardoning of violations. Rather than building upon the “Polluters Pay Principle”, the ESP looks like an attempt to promote corporate development by using a contradictory “Pay and Pollute” principle.

♤ MoEFCC stated the notification has legal basis in two judgments, one by the NGT and the other by the Jharkhand High Court. But neither of the two judgments condones EIA violations to be regularized post facto nor does it prescribe a way out of these for violators.

♤ Valuation of environmental loss cannot be just compensated by pecuniary payment by the violator.

♤ Whether the fine amount would be collected properly and utilized for restoration is doubtful. No mechanism has been proposed to utilize the collected funds.

♤ ESP provides an escape mechanism to violators. Instead of following the path of an EIA clearance, they can get away by paying a penalty through specific investment activities.