New Delhi, August 13: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday demanded the withdrawal of the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020. Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to target the Centre over the Draft EIA 2020 Notification. The Congress leader said that the Central government should withdraw the notification. He tweeted that Nature could only protect humans if she is protected. Rahul Gandhi Tweets 'EIA 2020 Draft Must be Withdrawn to Stop Loot of The Nation'.

Gandhi, in the tweet, stated, "Nature protects, if she is protected. GOI must stop dismantling India's environmental regulations. Essential first step is to withdraw the Draft EIA 2020 Notification." It was not the first time that the scion of the Gandhi family had targeted the government over the Draft EIA 2020 Notification.

Tweet by Rahul Gandhi:

On Monday also, the Congress lawmaker demanded the withdrawal of the notification saying it aims to loot the country and will destroy the environment. In his earlier tweet, Gandhi had accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of helping select industrialists and businessmen with the EIA 2020 draft, adding that it must be taken back. Environment Impact Assessment Draft 2020: Read History, Modified Version of EIA And Concerns Raised by Environmental Activists.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released the draft notification of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020 in March seeking public opinions. On June 30, the Delhi High Court extended the time granted for public opinion on the contentious 2020 EIA draft until  August 11. One of the most contentious issues of the 2020 EIA draft is the exemption given to 40 different types of industries from the need for prior environmental clearance. It simply means no EIA clearance would be needed to carry out projects mentioned in the list of exempted.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2020 09:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).