Environmental Reform: Government Streamlines Industrial Approvals Under Air And Water Acts
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) | Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) | State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)
The Government of India has notified significant amendments to the Uniform Consent Guidelines under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. The cornerstone of this reform is the transformation of the Consent to Operate (CTO) into a “perpetual” license. Under the new guidelines, once a CTO is granted, it will remain valid until it is formally cancelled due to violations, eliminating the need for periodic renewals and significantly reducing the administrative burden on industries.
Streamlining Approvals and Inspections The revised framework introduces several mechanisms to accelerate industrial clearances while maintaining environmental integrity:
Consolidated Consent and Authorisation: SPCBs can now process a single integrated application covering consents under the Air and Water Acts alongside authorizations under various Waste Management Rules.
Deemed Consent for MSMEs: For Micro and Small Enterprises located in notified industrial estates, the Consent to Establish (CTE) is now deemed granted upon the submission of a self-certified application, as the land has already undergone environmental assessment.
Flexible Siting Criteria: Rigid minimum-distance siting rules have been replaced with site-specific environmental assessments. This allows authorities to stipulate tailored safeguards based on proximity to water bodies, settlements, or ecologically sensitive areas.
One-Time Fee Structure: States are now permitted to prescribe a one-time CTO fee for a period ranging from 5 to 25 years, reducing repetitive financial transactions and processing delays.
Environmental Safeguards and Trust-Based Governance While procedural hurdles have been lowered, the guidelines retain strict enforcement measures:
Periodic Inspections: Compliance will be ensured through continuous monitoring and scheduled inspections; any non-compliance with standards or environmental damage will lead to immediate cancellation of consent.
Trust-Based Mechanism: The reform moves toward a “trust-but-verify” model, favoring self-regulation and transparency while keeping the deterrent of heavy penalties for persistent violators.
What is “Consolidated Consent and Authorisation” (CCA) in the new guidelines? CCA is an integrated regulatory permit that combines multiple environmental clearances into a single document. Instead of applying separately for air emissions, water discharge, and various waste handling (like hazardous or plastic waste), an industry can now receive one unified permission. This “single-window” approach ensures that all environmental aspects of a facility are reviewed holistically, reducing duplication and processing time.
Policy Relevance
The 2026 amendments align with India’s “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” strategy by removing “license-raj” era redundancies from environmental regulation.
Ease of Doing Business (EoDB): Eliminating the CTO renewal cycle and introducing “deemed consent” for MSMEs directly improves India’s manufacturing competitiveness and lowers operational costs.
Institutional Efficiency: Freeing SPCBs from the repetitive task of processing thousands of renewal applications allows them to focus their limited scientific manpower on high-risk inspections and pollution-hotspot monitoring.
Adaptive Regulation: The move from rigid siting rules to site-specific assessments allows for industrial growth even in complex geographies, provided that advanced technological safeguards are implemented.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How can State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) ensure that the “Perpetual CTO” model does not lead to “regulatory capture” where industries neglect long-term upgrades to pollution control equipment?
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