NEW DELHI: Dozens of civil society organisations, activists, and lawyers urged the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to revoke the exemption given to white-category industries from the mandatory consent requirement for environmental clearance from pollution control authorities related to air and water pollution.They submitted the letter stating the decision was arbitrary and unscientific exemption without proper assessment of the impact of industries on air and water pollution and, subsequently, human health. Under the aegis of the umbrella organisation ‘the National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ),’ they alleged that the government has prioritised the ‘ease of doing business’ over critical environmental protection, public health, and people’s and communities’ rights.Last November, the Central Government, through its two notifications, exempted a series of white categories of industry from the mandatory consent requirement for environmental clearance from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) related to air and water pollution.White category industries are considered to have minimal pollution potential. The CPCB introduced the white category 2016 to reclassify industries based on their pollution potential.Notifications have exempted 39 industries classified as “White industries,” which include Fly Ash Brick manufacturing, assembly and repair of air coolers and conditioners, assembly of bicycles and baby carriages, hydraulic baling of waste papers, blending and packing of tea, chalk making from plaster of Paris, etc.
Source link
