Shoma Patnaik
Panaji: Categorisation of industries in the state for compliance with pollution laws is due for a change with the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) set to implement the revised methodology submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), New Delhi, for classification of sectors.
The new methodology is applicable with immediate effect in all the states.
Under the changed system of categorisation, the CPCB has introduced an additional ‘blue’ category of industries for household waste and essential environmental services for domestic waste management besides the existing red, orange, green and white categories.
The revised categorisation will henceforth be used for giving pollution control board consents as well as for monitoring the environment. The revised categorisation will also apply to all pending applications for consent to establish and consent to operate.
Speaking to The Navhind Times on Tuesday, GSPCB chairman Mahesh Patil said the new categorisation norms that came in recently will enhance transparency and promote consents in a time-bound manner. “Implementation of the revised categorisation in the state will happen within six months,” he said.
Patil said that to encourage the industrial units to reduce pollution, the CPCB has directed that incentives be given to companies that adopt environment-friendly practices. The incentives will be decided by a committee constituted for the purpose, he said.
The CPCB’s categorisation norms have been in existence since 2016 and they are based on a Pollution Index (PI) score given to industries. The new methodology aims to enhance environment management by overcoming the limitations of the old system of calculating the PI as well as bifurcating industry sub-sectors based on the pollution load, scale of operation and the type of fuel used for production.
Under the new norms, the number of industries for categorisation has now increased to 403 from the earlier 257.
The guidelines say that any industries that are left out of the categorisation and which are not included in the revised list of red, orange, green and white categories will be categorised at the level of the state board concerned by constituting a committee and by following the revised guidelines.
However, approval of industries in the newly introduced blue category will be done at the level of CPCB only, say the guidelines.
