The District Pollution Control Board is on the verge of phasing out printed applications and ushering in transparency by way of direct online applications.
Online applications will soon be made the order of the day, with the trial run of Online Consent Management and Monitoring System software currently under processing here.
OCMMS software enables industries to apply online for Consent to Establish, Consent to Operate and Renewal of Consent. The applications are forwarded for processing to the engineers concerned.
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The Online Consent Management and Monitoring System software has been developed by the National Infomatics Centre by using Open Source Technology and has been hosted in the cloud server of NIC.
In a bid to usher in transparency and cut down red tape, the applicant industry can also track the movement and status of the applications at any time.
The facility to track the applications is inbuilt in the OCMMS software, said an official source.
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Under this, inbuilt facility has been incorporated for sending SMS and email alerts to the District environmental engineers of the board, whenever applications and additional information is submitted by the industry applicant concerned.
Similarly, email and SMS alerts will be sent to the industry for additional information on the application.
Until now, issue to consent under the Water and Air Acts via a series of applications has been a protracted and opaque process.
The applications were being received in printed form by the office of District Environmental Engineer and any additional information and clarifications are obtained through a series of communications by letter.
Consent orders are issued thereafter upon verification.
With the pilot run of OCMMS software underway, industries can avail themselves of the software and also come up with their feedback.
Besides this, TNPCB will completely phase out printed forms after February 19. An OCMMS Care Centre has been set up at the TNPCB’s district pollution control office in Hosur.
Online Consent Management and Monitoring System software developed by National Infomatics Centre
Applicant industrial unit can track the movement and status of their applications at any time using the new system