Govt amends guidelines to strengthen environmental governance

The government has amended the Uniform Consent Guidelines notified under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to further streamline the consent mechanism for industries across all States and Union territories.

The move is aimed at reducing procedural delays and strengthening environmental governance. The guidelines issued last year provide a uniform framework for granting, refusing or cancelling Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO). These guidelines ensure consistency, transparency, and accountability in consent management across the country.

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An important reform is the provision for Consolidated Consent and Authorisation. SPCBs can now process a common application and issue integrated permissions covering consents under the Air and Water Acts, along with authorisations under various Waste Management Rules. Integrated consents reduce multiple applications, timelines for approvals are shortened, and strong provisions for monitoring, compliance and cancellation remain in place.

The amendments aim to ensure faster, clearer, and more efficient approval processes while maintaining environmental safeguards, supporting the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in processing consent applications and conducting inspections. It also removes uncertainty and disruption in operations due to delays in the renewal of the Consent to Operate.

A major amendment relates to the validity of Consent to Operate (CTO). Under the amended guidelines, the CTO, once granted, will remain valid until it is cancelled. Environmental compliance will continue to be enforced through periodic inspections, and the consent can be cancelled in case of violations, if noticed. This removes the need for repeated renewals, reduces paperwork and the compliance burden on industries, and ensures continuity of industrial operations. Further, the processing time for the grant of consent to Red Category industries has been reduced from 120 days to 90 days.

To further speed up processing, the amended guidelines allow Registered Environmental Auditors, certified under the Environment Audit Rules, 2025, to conduct site visits and verify compliance, in addition to inspections by SPCB officers. This strengthens verification while enabling Boards to focus more on high-risk industries and enforcement.