NEW DELHI: The Central Government has issued a notification exempting several white category industries from the mandatory requirement of obtaining environmental clearances related to air and water pollution from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
White category industries are defined as those with minimal pollution potential. The CPCB introduced this classification in 2016 to reclassify industries based on their pollution potential.
As per the new notification, industries falling under this category are no longer required to seek consent from State Pollution Control Boards to prove that their operations do not contribute to water or air pollution.
Government officials stated that the integration of pollution prevention rules related to air and water is aimed at promoting industries.
Previously, industries had to file separate applications under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, with the respective state pollution control boards to obtain permission. The Government has termed the move as a significant step towards easing the regulatory burden on businesses and reducing compliance requirements.
The notification, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), exempts all industrial plants with a pollution index score of up to 20, as listed in the schedule of the notification.
Additionally, industries that have obtained prior environmental clearance from the MoEFCC before September 14, 2006, under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, are also exempt from the requirement to obtain further consent for their operations.
With the CPCB’s powers to provide consent for establishing industries now scrapped, the MoEFCC has stated that the Government may issue a standard operating procedure (SOP) to streamline the implementation of the notification as deemed appropriate.
The CPCB’s white category, introduced in 2016, includes industries such as the assembly of air coolers, air conditioners, bicycles, baby carriages, hydraulic baling of waste paper, tea blending and packing, chalk making from plaster of Paris, cotton and woollen hosiery making, diesel pump repairing and servicing, fountain pen manufacturing, and the production of coir items, metal caps, containers, shoe brushes, wire brushes, among others.