Economic, social and environmental change is inherent to development. Whilst development aims to bring about positive change it can lead to conflicts. In the past, the promotion of economic growth as the motor for increased well-being was the main development thrust with little sensitivity to adverse social or environmental impacts. The need to avoid adverse impacts and to ensure long term benefits led to the concept of sustainability. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) can be defined as the systematic identification and evaluation of the potential impacts (effects) of proposed projects, plans, programs, or legislative actions relative to the physical, chemical, biological, cultural, and socioeconomic components of the total environment. To disclose significant environmental effects of proposed projects to decision-makers and the public. ii) To identify ways to avoid or reduce environmental damage. iii) To prevent adverse environmental impacts by requiring implementation of feasible alternatives or mitigation measuresEnvironmental clearance or the ‘go ahead’ signal is granted by the Impact Assessment Agency in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. All projects that require clearance from central government can be broadly categorized into the following:- (1) Industries ..\Unit 1 notes\Environmental Clearance.docx (2) Mining (3) Thermal power plants (4) River valley projects (5) Infrastructure and CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) (6) Nuclear power projects Baseline information is important reference point for conducting EIA. The term "baseline" refers to the collection of background information on the biophysical, social and economic settings proposed project area. Baseline data are collected for two main purposes: to provide a description of the status and trends of environmental factors (e.g., air pollutant concentrations) against which predicted changes can be compared and evaluated in terms of importance, and to provide a means of detecting actual change by monitoring once a project has been initiated important to establish mechanisms by identifying projects which requires EIA, and this process of selection of project is referred to as "Screening“ Scoping is to determine what should be the coverage or scope of the EIA study for a project proposal as having potentially significant environmental impactsEnvironmental impact assessment (EIA) can be defined as the systematic identification and evaluation of the potential impacts (effects) of proposed projects, plans, programs, or legislative actions relative to the physical, chemical, biological, cultural, and socioeconomic components of the total environment. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) can be defined as the systematic identification and evaluation of the potential impacts (effects) of proposed projects, plans, programs, or legislative actions relative to the physical, chemical, biological, cultural, and socioeconomic components of the total environment EIA