Why in the News?

Kerala is set to construct a ropeway in Sabarimala by compensating the Forests department with alternative land at Chinnakkanal in Idukki.
The 2.7-kilometre-long ropeway aims to transport goods from the Pampa base station to the Sabarimala Sannidhanam.
- Once the land is transferred for compensatory afforestation, an application will be submitted in the PARIVESH portal for clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

What is PARIVESH Portal?

PARIVESH, which stands for Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive Virtuous & Environmental Single-window Hub.
It is an online portal developed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change.
It is designed to streamline and expedite the process of obtaining clearances related to environment, forests, wildlife, and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) from central, state, and district-level authorities.
Purpose and Scope:

- PARIVESH is intended to enhance efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the clearance processes for environment, forests, wildlife, and CRZ.
- It aims to reduce the turnaround time for obtaining clearances and improve responsiveness through workflow automation and real-time information availability.

Functionality:
- It serves as a role-based, web-based workflow application where user agencies can submit proposals online for clearances.
- It operates on a Web Architecture using IIS as an Application Server, .NET framework, and SQL Server as a database server.

Allows for online submission and monitoring of compliance reports, including geo-tagged images of sites through a Mobile App, enhancing compliance monitoring.
Integrates Geographic Information System (GIS) interface for Appraisal Committees to analyze proposals efficiently.
Accessible 24×7 from any PC with internet connectivity, ensuring continuous availability for users across different locations and time zones.

[2019] Consider the following statements:

The Environment Protection Act, 1986 empowers the Government of India to

State the requirement of public participation in the process of environmental protection, and the procedure and manner in which it is sought.
Lay down the standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various sources

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(d) Neither 1 nor 2