Gujarat Pollution Control Board

After the enactment of water prevention and control of pollution act, the Gujarat government constituted the Gujarat pollution control board in 1974. The board's main objective is to control and minimize pollution in the state. The board is entrusted with the implementation of central environment laws and state rules and laws pertaining to the environment.

There are 27 regional offices, and out of those 27, six have a laboratory equipped with analytical facilities. The head office is located in Gandhinagar, and the central laboratory is also located in the state capital. The head office is equipped R&D facility so that the best ways and methods can be created to treat gaseous and liquid effluents. The board regularly inspects sites and projects. It collects samples and sends them to its laboratories for inspection. Over the years the board has grown its infrastructure and also its staff and has recruited qualified staff for developing new techniques and methods to abate pollution and also it is able to deal with complex issues and laws. The board makes sure that industries follow these laws and rules. The body is empowered to levy fines and order closure of defaulting industries.

Functions of the board

• Implementation of laws related to the environment
• Issues direction and show cause notice to polluting units.
• Control and prevention of pollution and improve the overall air and water quality in the state.
• The board takes measures to clean wells, streams, and rivers and oversee implementation of treatment facilities (STP) by industries that discharge liquid waste into streams and rivers.
• Guides and suggests state government with the location of industries.
• Advises state government with environment laws and helps the state government in framing rules and laws.
• Collects and compiles statistical and technical data related to pollution.
• Framing and laying down standards for discharge of gaseous and liquid effluents.
• Collects samples from industries and sends them to laboratories to check defaulting industries.
• Organizes programs and seminars vis-a-vis pollution and also creates awareness among the general public with regard to the environment.
• The board also creates common facilities for collection, treatment, and disposal of waste by industries in industrial hubs.
• The board conducts R&D and develops methods and technology which can be used by industries for combating pollution.
• The board is also entrusted with the implementation of hazardous, biomedical, and municipal waste rules.

What is the process to get Consent To Establish (CTE) from the board?

• After identification of land by the project developer, the developer has to get permission from Coastal regulatory authority if that land falls in the coastal regulatory zone.
• If the industry falls in the list of industries notified by the government of India to procure environment clearance before the establishment of the industry, then that project first has to take permission from Ministry of Environment first.
• Projects falling in category A have to take clearance from the Ministry of Environment first, and projects falling in category B have to apply to state appraisal committee for permission.
• Once the above mentioned conditions are fulfilled then the particular industry can apply for consent to establish (CTE) and after consent to establish is granted by the board, and after projects construction is completed the industry can apply for consent to operate (CC&A).

What are the documents required for obtaining consent to establish (CTE)?

• A copy of the processing fee for a period of five years.
• Topo site map of the area showing nearest residential area, highways, and roads, water bodies, school/colleges, temples and tourist and historical monuments in the vicinity.
• Layout plan of the project showing utilities of that industry like chimneys, drainage, sewage/effluent treatment plant, generators, total available space, and open lands inside the project.
• Complete list of partners and directors with their telephone no. And address.
• Details of the effluent treatment plant and the flow diagram of the liquid waste.
• A complete report of the effluent to be discharged by the industry whether it is treated or not by that industry.
• Complete details of the activities and products to be manufactured by the industry and manufacturing process to be adopted by the industry.
• Waste water balance sheet and water balance report.
• Form 4 declaring the environment statement.
• Copy of SSI certificate.
• Air pollution to be emitted along with details of measure to be adopted to combat the emissions.
• Boiler or steam generators certificate if the industry will use them, and also a report of consumption of coal per day by the industry.
• List of raw material to be used for production.
• Compliance of public hearing and environment clearance certificate if applicable.
• Auditor certificate by a chartered accountant.
• CI no. If dyes are to be used in production.
• Compliance report of form no. 1 relating to hazardous waste rules.
• Annual report of compliance of form 4, 12, and 13.
• Form 5 of hazardous waste rules if there is an accident.
• Photograph of the facility where hazardous material and the waste will be stored.
• Details of storage, transportation, collection, and treatment of hazardous waste.
• Reason of rejection if earlier consent to establish was applied, and the same was denied by the board.
• Compliance report of environment clearance by the Ministry of environment if applicable.
• Compliance report of coastal regulatory authority if applicable.
• Ground water usage certificate from concerned authority.

What is the procedure to obtain consent to operate (CC&A)?

Once consent to establish has been granted by the board, and the project's construction has been completed by the industry, then that particular industry can apply for consent to operate.

• For all categories that are red, orange, and green provisional consent is given as soon as the industry applies for consent to operate.
• After submission of the application due diligence is done by an officer appointed by the board to check whether the industry has complied with all the conditions of consent to establish.
• The application then goes to the registration officer for scrutiny, and once the officer is satisfied that all necessary documents have been attached along with the form, it is forwarded to the head officer for the final decision.
• For larger industries of the orange and red category, the final decision is taken by the member secretary and the chairman respectively.
• The maximum no. of days in which the whole process of consent to operate is to be completed by the pollution board is 120 days.

What is the emission trading scheme (ETS) started by the Gujarat government pollution board?

Emission trading scheme (ETS) is a pilot project started by the Gujarat government and implemented by the Gujarat pollution control board. It is a market based concept; the concept is based on the approach of incentivizing industries if they are able to reduce pollution emission. Each industry will be given a quota of pollution it can emit. And if that industry is able to reduce pollution, then the surplus quota can be sold by that industry to some other industry, thus creating a system where the industry would be rewarded for reducing pollution. This way, the industry would invest more in developing methods and techniques to reduce pollution so that it can sell its surplus quota and does not need to spend money to buy additional quota.

Cap on pollution and trade of units will enable the market to find the best way to cut emissions. The cap on pollution per industry would be decided by the state government in consultation with the pollution board. The basic criteria for deciding the cap of pollution would be the category the specific industry falls in and the amount of money invested in a project by the particular industry. The cap on pollution would get stricter over the years requiring industries to reduce pollution on a yearly basis. The industry missing these set criteria would be penalized heavily, thus forcing it to buy additional quota from an industry which has reduced its pollution, making it more expensive for heavy polluting industries.

The emission trading units will be sold on trading platforms and will work like a stock market where trading of ETS units will be facilitated; the units would be traded on National commodity and derivatives exchange limited.

The scheme is based on the concept of Polluter pay principle. The particulate emission by the industry will be calculated on the kilogram of pollution per annum. And units to be marked as quota will also be in accordance with the kilogram pollutant formula. The concept is still in the initial stage, and the Gujarat pollution board will sanitize and inform industries about the concept. In the initial stage, the concept is in its trial basis, and only 150 industries have been included in the state with further inclusion of industries in a stage wise manner. The pollution board will organize seminars for industry leaders and officials so that they have knowledge of the concept and dialogue between industry staff and government official will be held so that the scheme can be made more transparent and efficient and the concept can be converted into a fully functional program.

Procedure for obtaining a Pollution Control Consent, NOC or License with LawyerINC

• Connect with our team
• Submit necessary documents
• Assignment of experts to your case
• Consultation by experts and completion of procedure
• Drafting and Filing of Application with Pollution Board
• Delivery of the Consent Certificate/CTE/CTO