NEW DELHI: The Union Government has streamlined regulations related to air and water pollution control to promote industrialisation throughout the country. These changes will allow industries to operate without the need for regular license renewals and reduce the approval time for establishing new industries, even those in the most polluting categories.
In another reform, the government has exempted the establishment of common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) from environmental clearance requirements.
The new notification aims to minimise procedural delays, ensuring faster, clearer, and more efficient approval processes while maintaining environmental safeguards. The processing time for granting consent to operate Red Category industries has been reduced from 120 to 90 days.
The government has amended the Uniform Consent Guidelines under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, to further streamline the consent mechanism for industries across all states and Union Territories (UTs). This amendment removes uncertainty and disruption to operations caused by delays in renewing Consent to Operate (CTO).
A key change includes the validity of CTOs. Under the amended guidelines, once granted, a CTO will remain valid until it is cancelled.