PANJIM: Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will re-classify all industries in the State.
Non-polluting industries will be categorized as White and will not require Consent to Operate under the Air and Water pollution Acts. Some 36 industrial sectors with around 200 units will be covered under this category.
Nearly 1314 industries under the Green category will now be granted one-time consent for the lifecycle of the units. These units had consent to operate that had to be renewed every ten years.
The move comes following finalization of the new system by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on re-classification of industries into Red, Orange, Green and White. “We will be placing the new guidelines before the Board members during the next meeting,” GSPCB chairman Jose Manual Noronha said.
“The purpose of categorization is to ensure that the industry is established in a manner which is consistent with the environmental objectives. It will prompt the sector willing to adopt cleaner technologies, ultimately resulting in generation of fewer pollutants,” CPCB opined.
As per the guidelines, the period of the Consent to Operate of the 746-odd Red category industries has been extended to five years from the existing two years, while around 2662 Orange category industries will enjoy the consent validity of up to 10 years, as against the existing three to seven years.
“With new classification around 200 units will come under White, as we don’t have many such industries operational in the State,” Chairman said. The White category industries will include units like plastic and cotton rope making, organic and inorganic nutrients, packing of powdered milk, handloom, blending and packing of tea, biscuit trays, etc.
The proposed classification will be on the basis of a composite score – comprising 40 per cent weightage for air pollution, 40 percent for water quality and 20 per cent hazardous waste. The parameters will include toxic pollutants, besides the standard basket of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide, benzene, ammonia, the pH (to ascertain the level of acidity of water quality), total suspended solids and level of dissolved oxygen.
“Industries that score over 60 will be classified as red, those from 30 to 59 as orange, from 15 to 29 as green.”
