India’s Central Pollution Control Board will provide incentives to industries as they adopt cleaner fuels and technologies, giving them the opportunity to fetch a better pollution index number that could, in turn, result in fewer regulatory burdens.

In a letter issued to states in February, the CPCB, India’s pollution regulatory body, said that after meeting with stakeholders, a “need was felt to promote/incentivize units for adopting measures resulting in better environmental performance.” The newly revised index gives industries the ability to earn a star-rated status if they are able to improve their scores by switching to cleaner fuels and reducing pollution loads. Previously, the CPCB’s pollution index had no such provision.

Eligible units need to demonstrate measures taken to treat and reuse wastewater, reduce freshwater consumption, and switch to alternative cleaner fuels or technology which result in fewer emissions and waste generation. A committee led by the member secretary of the state pollution board, will verify these efforts before revising the pollution index score, the CPCB’s report on the revision says. Incentives for improving pollution index scores include longer Consent to Operate certifications (up to five years longer in duration), as well as fewer site visits by pollution authorities.

But even as industries have the opportunity to progress along the index, the revised index relaxes pollution scores across each category. Industries are categorised into red (severely polluting), orange (highly polluting), green (polluting, but to a lesser degree), and white (least polluting). Scores are assigned based on the potential air pollution, water pollution, and waste generation of an industrial unit.

Previously, red industries scored 60 points or higher in the index, but this is now revised to 80 or higher, giving industries more room before being classified as red. Red industries invite the strictest monitoring and regulatory compliances.

Similarly, the score for orange industries has changed from a score between 41 and 59 to between 55 and 80. Green industry scores are revised from between 21 and 40 to between 25 and 54. The least polluting white industries have a score between zero and 25 compared to the previous regime, between zero and 20.

“Adoption of cleaner technology is needed, but inspections are necessary to ensure that these systems continue to work. There have been cases in the past where emission monitoring systems that industries are supposed to install have been tampered with, preventing actual emission data from reaching the pollution control boards,” said Meenakshi Kapoor, an independent researcher who closely tracks changes to environmental regulations.

Stakeholder discussions were driven primarily by industry and industry associations, the CPCB’s report reveals. The revised index comes months after the CPCB did away with “Consent to Establish” permits for polluting industries that have obtained environmental clearance. White industries are also exempt from obtaining permits to establish and operate their units.

The CPCB says the revised scoring criteria are based on the “precautionary principle,” where “the scoring methodology is based on the pollution potential during generation and not at the end of pipe.”

Waste incineration given ‘essential environment service’ tag

The revised index also introduces a new “blue” category, for industrial services that cater to the management of domestic waste. This category, called “essential environmental services,” include a range of activities such as landfill biomining, sewage treatment, and waste processing plants. These services “play a vital role in protecting the environment and human health,” and “may also bring value addition by producing various by-products such as secondary raw material, compost, energy, etc. and promote circular economy and sustainable development by converting waste into wealth,” the CPCB’s report says.

A total of nine industries/activities have been included in the blue category, with the benefit of an extended two-year validity period on their Consent to Operate permits.

Among newly categorised essential environmental services, however, are waste-to-energy (WTE) plants, which are known to be highly polluting. Waste-to-energy plants work by incinerating waste at high temperatures, producing steam which rotates turbines to generate electricity. Previously, WTE plants were in the red category because of their highly polluting potential, with a score of 97.6 out of 100.

“WTE plants release emissions like dioxins and furans, which are not only polluting but are bad for health. Only the CPCB has the capacity to test these emissions, because most states don’t have the facilities to monitor or test these emissions,” said Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran, senior research associate at the Centre for Financial Accountability. “When proper testing facilities to check pollution don’t exist, you can’t give waste incineration a clean sheet and categorise it as a blue industry.”

There are 21 WTE plants in India. A recent report submitted in the National Green Tribunal revealed most monitoring criteria were not met by these plants, with several parameters going without testing. This includes plants burning mixed waste of low calorific value, not testing bottom ash for heavy metals, and failing to report dioxin, furan, and other air pollution levels.

The CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) said plants that burn mixed waste “may not be feasible in India” because they don’t adhere to waste management rules. “Promoting waste to energy plants for mixed waste (mass burning) defeats the purpose of waste segregation…The mass burning of MSW (municipal solid waste) also defeats the opportunity of Circular Economy for the waste sector,” it said in a report.

Banner image: Domestic sewage let into the Kosasthalaiyar River in Kathivakkam, Ennore. Image by India Water Portal via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

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Aditi Tandon Senior Production Editor

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