SC approves Kerala slotting projects in the orange category

Supreme Court’s observations regarding Kerala state slotting based on Environment (Protection) Rules.

BACKGROUND:

CPCB slotting of industries:

• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had slotted industrial activities into the red, orange, green and white categories, based on the pollution index, in March 2016. This was meant to implement more effective measures to control pollution based on the severity of pollution by the industries.
• The criteria of categorization of industrial sectors are based on the Pollution Index which is a function of the emissions (air pollutants), effluents (water pollutants), hazardous wastes generated and consumption of resources.
• The Pollution Index (PI) of any industrial sector is a number from 0 to 100 and the increasing value of PI denotes the increasing degree of pollution load from the industrial sector.
• The following are the criteria on the ‘Range of Pollution Index’ for the categorization of industrial sectors.
• Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 60 and above – Red category
• Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 41 to 59 – Orange category
• Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 21 to 40 – Green category
• Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score up to 20 – White category
• There shall be no necessity of obtaining the Consent to Operate for the White category of industries. The red category of industries shall not be normally permitted in the ecologically fragile area/protected area.

Kerala’s SPCB rules:

• Based on the report of an expert committee and in line with the CPCB’s direction, in 2017, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board brought flats, apartments, and commercial buildings, spanning over 2,000 sq.m, but less than 20,000 sq.m, under the orange category.
• This decision of the State Pollution Control Board was successfully challenged before the Appellate Authority which held that residential constructions did not fall in the category of industry.
• The State Pollution Control Board had argued that it is authorized to use its power under the directions of the CPCB and the Environment (Protection) Rules, to impose such stringent conditions to prevent environmental degradation and pollution.
• The State Pollution Control Board then appealed before the NGT, which set aside the Appellate Authority’s decision and held that these stringent conditions were required on account of high groundwater consumption and contamination of water bodies and the groundwater by such buildings.

Details:

• The Supreme Court has upheld the views of the NGT and declined to entertain the appeal filed by the Kerala chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) that the categorization was arbitrary.

Source: The Hindu