KATHMANDU, Sept 7: The Ministry of Livestock Development (MoLD) has directed the livestock industrialists to begin a procedure to get approval for Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) within three months. 

As the ministry has found most of the hatcheries, fodder industries, slaughterhouses, and livestock firms operating without IEE approval, it has directed the entrepreneurs to start procedure for IEE.  
According to the Environment Protection Act (EPA) 1997, a proponent shall have to carry out IEE of the proposals. No one shall implement or cause to be implemented a proposal without getting it approved from the concerned agency.  

Knowingly or unknowingly, many industrialists have been operating their industries without IEE approval. So this is just a request to those industrialists to register their industries and receive IEE approval from the ministry, said Shyam Prashad Paudel spokesperson for MoLD. 

“We have found that most of the industries were running without IEE approval. I agree that some of them might not know about it but many of them are neglecting the rule and operating their business,” Paudel said: “So we have given three months’ time period for them to start the procedure of IEE.”

According to Paudel, all entrepreneurs should have the IEE approved before starting their industries. 

IEE is a document that has the overall information regarding the industry and the environmental effect that can be caused by it. So to prevent that environmental effect, IEE approval is needed before starting any industry, Paudel said. 

“All industries affect the environment, so this IEE is important to evaluate and minimize those effects.” 

He further said that whoever did not come to register for IEE procedure, the ministry will take required action against them as mentioned in the article 18 of EPA. 

“Each industry has its own limits that it should not cross.  If we found industries operating beyond their capacity then required action will be taken against them.” 

However the industrialists say that the IEE approval plays no role in their industries. According to them, industries operated with a capital of more than Rs 50 million have to process for IEE approval. They also claimed that they have got IEE approval. They further said that IEE was just a formality for the ministry, which did not matter for the entrepreneurs. 

“The IEE is just a formality, no matter if we got approval or not,” a industrialist said: “When we begin our industries we select bare lands and once we start our industries the settlements increase as the time passes by and later on they themselves complain against us. That time no IEE approval works.”

 
• mold directs entrepreneurs
 
• procedure
 
• iee within three months