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SC approves Kerala slotting projects in orange category
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- Supreme Court has declined to interfere in an appeal filed by the Kerala chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) against National Green Tribunal’s rejection of its contention that the inclusion of constructions between 2,000 sq.m & 20,000 sq.m in the ‘orange category’ by Kerala State Pollution Control Board was arbitrary.
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- Background
(1) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) slotted industrial activities into the red, orange, green and white categories, based on the pollution index, in March 2016.
(2) The very next year, the State Pollution Control Board, brought flats, apartments and commercial buildings—spanning over 2,000 sq.m, but less than 20,000 sq.m—under orange category.
(3) CREDAI successfully challenged SPCB’s circular before the Appellate Authority on the ground that residential constructions did not fall in the category of industry.
(4) SPCB had argued that it was authorised to impose stringent conditions to prevent environmental degradation and pollution.
(5) It had said it merely exercised its powers under the directions of the CPCB and the Environment (Protection) Rules. But the circular did not find favour with the Appellate Authority.
(6) The SPCB then appealed before the NGT, which set aside the Appellate Authority’s decision and held that these stringent conditions were required on account of higher groundwater level and contamination of waterbodies and the groundwater.
- MoEFCC has developed the criteria of categorization of industrial sectors based on the Pollution Index(a number from 0 to 100) which is a function of the emissions (air pollutants), effluents (water pollutants), hazardous wastes generated and consumption of resources.
(1) Red category: Industrial Sectors having PI score of 60 and above
(a) Industries falling under ‘Red’ category will not be permitted in ecologically fragile or sensitive areas. Interestingly, industries like integrated automobile manufacturing, airports and commercial air strips, and milk & dairy products are included in the ‘Red’ category.
(2) Orange category: Industrial Sectors having PI score of 41 to 59
(3) Green category: Industrial Sectors having PI score of 21 to 40
(4) White category: Industrial Sectors having PI score incl.& upto 20
(a) The white category will exempt companies that are mostly non-polluting from obtaining ‘Consent to Operate’ certificate. Henceforth, a mere written intimation to PCC or SPCB will be sufficient to proceed.
(b) Industries falling under ‘White’ category include LED and CFL bulb assembly, power generation using solar photovoltaic technology, wind power generating units, hydel units less than 25 MW, products made from rolled PVC sheets using automatic vacuum forming machines, cotton and woolen hosiers using dry processes etc.
Sources
The Hindu