New Delhi: Non-polluting or minimally polluting industries, such as handloom and medical oxygen, will no longer require dual environmental permissions to begin operations. This is part of the Centre’s push towards ease of doing business. But environmental experts worry it will weaken pollution monitoring.
On Thursday, a new notification released by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) dated 12 November said 39 categories of “white industries” will no longer require consent to establish (CTE). All industries with a pollution index score up to 20 will also not require consent to operate (CTO) from the state governments.
The pollution index is a scorecard for industries that indicates how polluting they are—the higher the score, the more polluting the industry. The index goes from 0-100, with 0 being the least and 100 being the most polluting.
“Now, non-polluting white category industries will not be required to take CTE or Consent to Operate (CTO) at all,” the environment ministry said in a statement Thursday, adding that the move is aimed at reducing the compliance burden and preventing duplication of approvals.
Among other industries expected to benefit are assembly and repair of air coolers, blending and packaging of tea, cotton and woollen hosier making.
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Process of permissions
In most states, industries are categorised as red, orange, green and white—red being the most polluting and white being the least.
While some cities, like Delhi, already do not require non-polluting industries to seek a CTE and CTO, in other states, industries currently have to fill up an application and seek permissions from state pollution control boards under the Air and Water Acts.
The CTE is usually valid for 1 to 7 years, depending on the request by the project proponent, but a CTO renewal is granted for 5 to 15 years. Red industries usually get permission to operate for 5 years, and the permissions for green industries are renewed every 15 years.
‘Dilutes environmental laws’
While the government is pushing this move to promote the ease of doing business, environmental experts said this will only worsen the monitoring of industrial pollution.
Bhavreen Kandhari, a Delhi-based environmental activist, said that the latest government notification is a “dangerous precedent”, prioritising short-term economic gains over long-term sustainability and public wellbeing.
“In an era when nations, including India, are committing to implement stricter environmental controls to combat climate change and protect public health, decisions to relax such safeguards are alarming,” Kandhari said.
She also explained that the role of state pollution control boards is crucial because these bodies are better equipped to address local environmental conditions and enforce compliance with pollution standards.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)