AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has introduced the system of auto renewal of Consent For Operations (CFO) and authorisation for complying industries and healthcare establishments. Earlier, the CFO was given for three, four, and five years for red, orange and green industries respectively.
Now, the period of validity has been enhanced to five, 10, and 15 years, said APPCB chairman Phani Kumar. Applicants need not run around regional, zonal, and head offices applying for renewal of consents and authorisations any more. The concentration would now be more on enforcement and speeding up consent renewal than time-consuming processes, he said.
Consent is being given within a week or 10 days for new permissions, whereas for existing industrial units a green channel has been introduced for license renewal, with automatic renewal if there are no cases against the industry concerned. The PCB has also been conducting industry specific clinics for all industries to tackle technology issues.
A computerised system was designed for identifying establishments that need to be inspected based on risk assessment, making the system more transparent by allowing industries concerned to download submitted inspection reports on their respective businesses, computerised allocation of inspecting officers, and also ensuring the same inspector does not go to the same establishment consecutively, he said.
After a push was given for real time monitoring systems of emissions and effluents round-the-clock, 69 industries had installed online monitoring systems, 15 online effluent monitoring systems, and 73 industries provided 151 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations.
Mr. Kumar said an environment audit scheme is also being contemplated for major pollution potential industries and urban local bodies by utilising expertise available in universities and premier scientific institutes to verify compliance of various environment regulations and guide industries to adopt latest technologies.
To encourage meritorious students to undertake research on environmental issues, APPCB is also offering research fellowships on par with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with eligible candidates chosen by a committee of eminent professors and scientists. Besides, the Centre for Science and Environment has been engaged to prepare a State Green Building Policy, said the retired IAS officer.
High points
APPCB had also scored cent per cent in all the 49 parameters set up by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the ‘ease of doing business’ analysis for the current year. Of the 340 action points, 49 pertained to clearances given by the board earned high points.
