Air and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act
In order to prevent and control ever-increasing water and Air pollution, the Water Act, 1974 and The Air Act, 1981 were enacted under which state pollution control boards were constituted as per Section 3 and 4. These Acts provide for the not only establishment of the boards but also provide functions per which these boards operate.
The Water Act, 1974, under Section 25, provides a grant of consent form from State pollution Control Boards which is mandatory for every industry and unit to obtain before it is established. This is also stipulated under Section 21 of The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. These Air and Water Consent forms are given to industries as per their categories and pollution index.
The MoEFCC has categorised the industries according to the Pollution Index, which is a unit denoting the amount of emission, effluents, and hazardous waste are generated in the Industries.
Also Read : CORPORATE AND GOVERMENT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL OFFENCES
The Different types of categories of industries specified by Pollution Control Boards are:-
White Category- Industries having the least amount of pollutants released is up to 20. The industries that are under white categories are not required to obtain Consent to operate. They just require the simple information to be sent to SPCB/PCC.
Green Category- Industries having a pollution index of 21 to 40 come under the green category.
Orange Category- Industries that have a higher pollution index of between 41 to 59 are categorised in Orange Category. Orange category include Lime manufacturing units, glass-making industries, Pharmaceutical formulation etc.
Red Category- Industries coming under the Red category are categorised as producing maximum amount pollution with the highest pollution Index score of 60 or above. They are industries are banned from any ecologically fragile area/protected area.
Types of Air and Water Consent Provided
As per the provisions under the Water and Air Act, “any industry, operation or process or an extension and addition thereto, which is likely to discharge sewerage or trade effluent into the environment or likely to emit any air pollution into the atmosphere will have to obtain the Consent.”
Therefore to start any industry, the manufacturer has to mandatorily acquire two types of Consent one is Consent to Establish and the other is Content to Operate.
To understand better also read : Air ( Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,1981 , Water ( Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,1974
Air and water Consent to establish
The manufacturers, as per guidelines, should obtain the required Air and water Consent to establish as the primary step into establishing the industry or operating units.
Applying for Consent to establish the manufacturer is required to register through the online consent management and monitoring system (OCMMS) of the concerned.
State Pollution Control Boards. The application submitted should have all the required information along with the documents mandated to be attached with the application, which is then followed by a mandatory inspection of the unit by the officer of the Pollution Control Committee.
The inspection of the units is accompanied by the review by the respective committee, after which the committee takes the decision.
But in case the owner of the industry is unable to establish the industry within the requisite time, then the manufacturer is required to apply for the extension of the certificate one month after the expiration of the certificate. Which will be issued after the concerned officer has completed his inspection.
Air and water Consent to operate
Air and water Consent to operate is required by the owners when the industry is established as per the stipulated norms under the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974[1] and the Air Act, 1981[1], along with this have received Consent to establish, and the unit is ready to operate.
The process to file for Air and water Consent to operate involves filling out the mandated application form available online at the site of concerned state pollution authorities is to be filled and uploaded within mandated guidelines. After this the documents mandated, along with the fees, are to be submitted on the website.
Once the document and fees are uploaded, the submitted application is sent to authorised personnel for review which is then followed by site inspection and documentation of a detailed analysis report which is submitted to the sub-regional officer. At last, the application is either approved or rejected.
Once the Air and Water consent to operate is granted, the certificate remains in operation for a period of 5 years for the red category, ten years for the orange category and 15 years for the green category. For Consent to operate, renewal is to apply through Online Consent Management & Monitoring System before the expiration of previous Consent to operate.
The Air and Water Act also states the penalty in case any industry falling into green/orange or red is operating without obtaining Consent. The penalty includes imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 months or a fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both. The manufacturer or the industry owner is held liable for the punishment.
Also Read : Environment Protection Act 1986
