SIA

SIA is a study that aims to identify and evaluate the impact of the project on well-being and livelihoods of communities and individuals in the area. Many countries use SIAs as a regulatory tool in planning developmental projects. In India, SIAs were mandated in 2013 by The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act. Prior to this law, land acquisition was controlled by the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, passed when India was still a colony. According to the 2013 land acquisition law, any major project is required to conduct an SIA within six months of the project’s start date. For projects that involve land acquisitions, developers need to acquire consent for a majority of local landowners: consent from 80 percent of affected landowners is required for private projects, and consent from 70 percent is required for public-private partnership projects. After land acquisition, businesses are required to compensate the affected individuals with two times the land’s market rate for urban land and four times the rate for rural land.

On April 3, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi bypassed parliament to issue an ordinance to ease the SIA requirement on companies that are involved in areas that are critical for the country’s development, such as: defence and defence production, rural infrastructure, industrial corridors, and social infrastructure projects such as Private Public Partnerships (PPPs). For projects within these areas, companies will no longer need to acquire consent through SIAs before development projects are approved, theoretically facilitating the development process.

Generally, it considers social aspects such as cultural, social, economic, and health impacts etc. RAP include initiatives to support affected communities, provide compensation or resettlement assistance, and promote social and economic development in the affected areas. EQMS has served several distinguished organizations for SIA & RAP. The company takes pride in having completed over ……. Social Impact Assessments (SIAs) to date. We have associated with more than……. Clients in SIA.