India
India’s Environment Ministry Clarifies No EIA Needed for Heliports and Helipads
The Union environment ministry has stated that heliports and helipads do not require prior environmental clearance under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, because they are not listed in the notification’s schedule. In an office memorandum dated 27 October, the ministry explained that it had received inquiries from stakeholders about the applicability of the EIA Notification for these facilities. The memo noted that, "As per extant provisions, heliports or helipads are not listed in the schedule of the EIA Notification, 2006. This is issued with the approval of the competent authority." Experts point out that while heliports and helipads are not explicitly mentioned, any building or construction project with a built‑up area exceeding 20,000 sq m still requires environmental clearance under Section 8(a) of the schedule. Debadityo Sinha, lead, climate and ecosystems at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, said, "So if the built‑up area of the helipad or heliport is above 20,000 sqm, it will still require an EC as per 8(a) of the Schedule. This is the same case with data centres currently." In a parliamentary reply on 6 August, the ministry had earlier clarified that artificial intelligence data centres do not require environmental clearance under the EIA Notification, 2006, except when they are part of a building and construction project with a built‑up area over 20,000 sq m or a township and area development project covering at least 50 ha or a built‑up area of 150,000 sq m under Item 8(b).