Managing director and CEO of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), Dr Joth Singh, says the processing of a landmark 3,000 certificates of environmental clearance (CECs) since the inception of the CEC regime in 2001 represents gains in the level of public awareness and is a tribute to the work of the EMA over the years. The first 1,000 CEC applications were submitted over a period of four years-July 7, 2001-March 2005-while the 2,000 CEC marker was reached in August 2007 during a period that saw accelerated activity in the energy and state construction sectors.
The statistic reached 3,000 in December 2010 marking a slowdown that mirrored the decline in development projects and energy-related activity which also reflected the global economic downturn. Singh said: "The EMA engaged this challenging period by expanding our capacity in the area of environmental assessments and by recognising the importance of every single facet of our operations when it comes to assessing CEC applications." He said "the CEC process calls for the involvement of everyone from our drivers to our team of professionals in the technical, legal and corporate relations and public education departments."