Centre amends pollution consent rules to ease approvals for industries
New Delhi, Jan 28: The government has amended the Uniform Consent Guidelines under the Air and Water Acts to streamline environmental clearances for industries across all states and union territories, while retaining regulatory safeguards.
The changes simplify procedures for granting, renewing, and monitoring Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO), with the aim of cutting delays and improving consistency in decision-making by State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees.
A key reform allows for consolidated consent and authorisation, enabling SPCBs to issue a single, integrated approval covering permissions under the Air and Water Acts as well as various waste management rules.
This is expected to reduce multiple applications and shorten approval timelines.
Under the amended guidelines, Consent to Operate will remain valid until cancelled, ending the requirement for periodic renewals.
Compliance will continue to be monitored through inspections, and consents can be withdrawn in case of violations. The processing time for Red Category industries has also been cut from 120 days to 90 days.
To speed up verification, registered environmental auditors will now be allowed to conduct site inspections alongside SPCB officials.
Special provisions have also been introduced for micro and small enterprises in notified industrial areas, where Consent to Establish will be deemed granted on the basis of self-certified applications.
The amendments replace fixed siting distance norms with site-specific environmental assessments and allow states to levy a one-time CTO fee for periods ranging from five to 25 years.
A uniform definition of capital investment has also been introduced to remove ambiguity in fee calculations.
The government said the revised framework balances ease of doing business with environmental protection, with provisions for refusal or cancellation of consent in cases of non-compliance, environmental damage or location in prohibited areas.
