The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change released a new categorization of industries based on their pollution load on March 5, 2016. The categorization shall help in determining the taxation, clearances and other restrictions/incentives to industries. The new categorization were Released by Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar. The exercise of Re-categorization was being carried out for last one year.
Re-categorization of industries based on their pollution load is a scientific exercise. The old system of categorization was creating problems for many industries and was not reflecting the pollution of the industries. The new categories will remove this lacuna and will give clear picture. 25 industrial sectors which were not critically polluting were also earlier categorized as Red. This was creating various problems for such industries and also the environment ministry.
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Pollution Index
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has developed the criteria of categorization of industrial sectors based on the Pollution Index which is a calculated by taking into account the following factors
- emissions (air pollutants),
- effluents (water pollutants),
- hazardous wastes generated and
- consumption of resources.
The Pollution Index PI of any industrial sector is a number from 0 to 100 and the increasing value of PI (Pollution Index) denotes the increasing degree of pollution load from the industrial sector. The following criteria on ‘Range of Pollution Index ‘for the purpose of categorization of industrial sectors has been made.
- Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 60 and above - Red category
- Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 41 to 59 – Orange category
- Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 21 to 40 – Green category
- Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score incl.&upto 20 - White category
The salient features of the ‘Re-categorization’ exercise are as follows:
- Due importance has been given to relative pollution potential of the industrial sectors based on scientific criteria. Further, wherever possible, splitting of the industrial sectors is also considered based on the use of raw materials, manufacturing process adopted and in-turn pollutants expected to be generated.
- The Red category of industrial sectors would be 60 like Automobiles manufacturing, pesticides, Nuclear waste producing industries, cement etc.
- The Orange category of industrial sectors would be 83 like toothpaste, coal washing, automobile repairing, printing press, food processing etc.
- The Green category of industrial sectors would be 63 like distilled water, small hotels, flour mills, ceramic, Polythenes.
- Newly-introduced White category contains 36 industrial sectors which are practically non-polluting.
- There shall be no necessity of obtaining the Consent to Operate for White category of industries. An intimation to concerned SPCB / PCC shall suffice.
- No Red category of industries shall normally be permitted in the ecologically fragile area / protected area.
The details of the industries falling under Red, Orange , Green and White categories are presented in tables 1, 2, 3 & 4 respectively (given below).
White Category Industries- The White category of industries have been introduced for the first time, the category pertains to those industrial sectors which are practically non-polluting. These are such as Biscuit trays etc. from rolled PVC sheet (using automatic vacuum forming machines), Cotton and woolen hosiers making (Dry process only without any dying/washing operation), Electric lamp (bulb) and CFL manufacturing by assembling only, Scientific and mathematical instrument manufacturing, Solar power generation through photovoltaic cell, wind power and mini hydel power (less than 25 MW).
Conclusion
The purpose of the categorization is to ensure that the industry is established in a manner which is consistent with the environmental objectives. The new criteria will prompt industrial sectors willing to adopt cleaner technologies, ultimately resulting in generation of fewer pollutants. Another feature of the new categorization system lies in facilitating self-assessment by industries as the subjectivity of earlier assessment has been eliminated. This ‘Re-categorization’ is a part of the efforts, policies and objective of present government to create a clean & transparent working environment in the country and promote the Ease of Doing Business.
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