New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechuri Saturday asked the government to consult state governments and local bodies before finalising an environment impact assessment (EIA) notification.

In a letter to Environment and Forests Minister A. Rajaj, Yechuri alleged that the government was planning to finalise the EIA notification - that specifies parameters for environmental clearance for new projects - without addressing concerns raised by mass organisations and public interest groups.

"The notification will have a big impact on the life of local people living in resource-rich areas and it is, therefore, essential that their concerns are adequately addressed and their voices heard," the CPI-M politburo member said in the letter.

The Rajya Sabha MP, whose CPI-M and three other Left parties prop up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government, also said the notification should be discussed in parliament.

Yechuri claimed that the government had discussed the policy only with business bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, apart from some central ministries and departments.

"This cannot be interpreted as extensive public consultations under any circumstances," he said, alleging that there have been apprehensions that the "EIA procedures have been severely diluted under the draft notification in order to facilitate the interests of the private industries".

According to the new notification, a non-objection certificate from state pollution control boards will not be necessary for environmental clearance of a project, he said.

"I request the government to withhold the finalisation of the EIA notification till such extensive discussions and parliamentary debates take place on this issue," Yechuri's letter said.