: India may be inviting disaster by making it easier for polluting industries to get clearances #IndiaNEWS Recent changes in the environment clearance process for India’s most polluting industries

India may be inviting disaster by making it easier for polluting industries to get clearances #IndiaNEWS
Recent changes in the environment clearance process for India’s most polluting industries will allow them to expand their capacity and change their raw materials without seeking the central environment ministry’s approval. This dilution of rules may not only worsen India’s high pollution load but also result in lethal industrial disasters, experts warn.The March 2021 amendment to the Environment Impact Assessment notification of 2006 reduces the scrutiny of habitually polluting units such as petrochemical, cement and fertiliser factories wishing to undertake critical changes in capacity and product mix. Earlier, these units could increase their capacity only up to 50% without a fresh clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Now, they only need to secure a “no increase in pollution load??? certification by a government-empanelled auditor or institution. And there is no longer a limit on the expansion.This dilution in rules shows an abdication of responsibility on the environment ministry’s part, said experts. Not only do Indian industries have a weak track record of compliance with pollution control rules but also systems put in place to allow relaxed scrutiny – such as the Online Continuous Emissions Monitoring System – have been patchily implemented, as we explain.Also, the limited scrutiny of a unit’s expansion,...Read more

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