Haryana Pollution Consent Board Consent

Overview of HSPCB Consent

In the past few years, growing business industries and manufacturing activities have depleted natural resources and have further led to the discharge of massive pollutants into the environment. Therefore, to ensure prevention & mitigation, the state of Haryana formed the Haryana Control Pollution Board in the year 1974 under the pursuance of the Water (Pollution Control & Prevention) Act 1974 and the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

The Haryana State Pollution Control (HSPC) is a state-level authority entrusted with the functions of enforcing adherence to the rules & regulations assuring a quality & safe environment for the people and holding businesses starting & operating under their jurisdiction to follow the established guidelines. Hence, businesses or industries seeking to initiate operations within the state of Haryana shall be required to obtain an NOC including a Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) based on the level of pollution index score discharged by the industry.

Meaning of Haryana State Pollution Control Board

Every individual or business entity involved in manufacturing activities, hotels, hospitals, and other similar activities needed to obtain a license or permission from the Haryana State Pollution Control Board which will act as an assurance that the manufacturing activities are compliant with the rules and regulations implemented by the Haryana Pollution Control Board.

Such license or permission by Haryana State Pollution Control Board is also called Pollution Control Board consent or Pollution Board NOC which is either Consent to Establish, and the other is Consent to Operate. While Consent to Establish (CTE) is the authorization granted for establishing a business, whereas once the business is established Consent to Operate is granted to start business operations.

Primary Objective of HSPCB

• To motivate industries, local authorities to take preventive measures for pollution control.
• To oversee compliance in highly polluted sensitive areas including highly polluted rivers on priority.
• To ensure effective control of environmental pollution and maintaining and restoring water and air quality.
• To raise awareness about environmental pollution and suggest ways to minimize pollution among local authorities
• To identify the key sources of pollution and initiate appropriate actions for abatement, prevention, and control of pollution.
• Innovative technologies for sewage treatment plants (STP), effluent treatment plants (STP), and pollution control-related equipment.
• To regulate & control environmental pollution regarding the techno-economic feasibility of liquid effluents and gaseous emissions.
• To ensure safe discharge of pollutants into natural water and its resources are not polluted by untreated discharge of sewage.
• Issue No Objection Certificates or Consents to projects falling into different categories including Orange, Green, and White, based on the pollution index score.
• To encourage the recycling & reuse of sewage and trade effluents and their safe use for beneficial purposes such as industrial purposes and irrigation post their fitting treatment.

Industries Categorized by the Haryana Pollution Control Board

Consent issued by the HPCB authority is subdivided into four categories based on the location of industries, aims of consent management, and formulation of norms associated with surveillance White, Green, Orange, and Red: 

1. White Category (Score of 20 or less, encompassing 192+ existing industries): The government has introduced the concept of the 'White Category' to identify the least polluting industries.

2. Green Category (Score of 21 – 40, encompassing 91+ existing industries): Industries with a pollution index ranging from 21 to 40 are categorized as Green.

3. Orange Category (Score of 41 – 59, encompassing 83+ existing industries): The Orange category encompasses industries with a pollution index ranging from 41 to 59.

4. Red Category (Score of 60 or more, encompassing 60+ existing industries): The Ministry of Environment & Forests designates highly polluting industries under the red category.

Note: Industries falling under the state of Haryana under the Green, Orange, and Red category shall mandatorily obtain the Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate under the Air and Water Act. However, the businesses falling under the white category shall obtain an undertaking within 30 days from the establishment of the business entity to the HPCB.

Documents required for HSPCB Consent

Documents for CTE:

• Certificate from a Chartered Accountant (CA)
• Environmental clearance from the state authority.
• Description of the production/manufacturing process
• A written request letter outlining updates on industry activities.
• Comprehensive information on water and wastewater balance.
• Site layout plan, Diagram illustrating distances from water bodies, roads, etc.
• Copy of the documents related to property registration, including sale and lease deeds.
• Memorandum of Articles/Article of Association (AoA) or a Registered Partnership deed.
• Details of material balances for each product, Certificate indicating land use classification.
• Payment of consent fees under the Water and Air Acts to the Haryana State Pollution Control Board.
• Clearance for groundwater usage from the relevant authority, Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) design scheme.
• Information regarding air pollution control measures. Material safety data sheets, including Risk Assessment Reports and Onsite, Off-site emergency preparedness plans.

Documents for CTO:

• Receipt of fee payment
• Compliance report for CTE
• Copy of Power of Attorney
• Copy of audited financial statements
• Details on the modifications in industrial emissions
• Analysis report for stack monitoring and noise levels
• Analysis report for the industry's wastewater treatment plant
• Detailed data on alterations in effluent emissions from the industry
• Comprehensive information regarding the products to be manufactured

Registration Process of HSPCB

As provided under the guidelines, no business establishment shall either emit or discharge air or water pollution or initiate business operations without obtaining NOC authorization HPCB in the form of CTE, or CTO in the absence of such content. The step-by-step process to obtain such consent shall be as follows:

1. Determine Industry Categorization: The initial step in obtaining HSPCB Consent involves ascertaining the industry's classification. Every category of industry has its prerequisites.

2. Complete the Application & Document Submission: Applicants must complete the application in the prescribed format, providing site details, registration certificates, and other relevant information.

3. Application Review: Post submission of the application a reviewing Manager of the District Industries Centre (DIC) and regional officials will scrutinize the complete application to ensure the pollution control guidelines.

4. Onsite Inspection, Audit Process: After the successful review of the application by the reviewing authorities, a field inspection conducts a site inspection of the manufacturing premises. Based on this visit, he’ll prepare an inspection report.

5. Issuance of Certificate: Subsequently, the inspection report is carefully examined. If the report complies with the pollution standards the manufacturer will be awarded the Consent Certificate by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board.

Validity of the CTE CTO Consent

The validity of the consent granted by the Haryana Pollution Control Board (HPCB) shall be dependent on the following conditions:

• If a business falls to an industry where the NOC holds validity for seven years.
• If such environmental clearance is not required then it is valid for five years.

The legal validity of the HPCB consent is further dependent on the category of the industries they fall in. For instance, the industries falling under the white category shall be valid for seven years from the date of acceptance whereas for businesses falling under the of green, orange, and red, the CTE shall be valid either one year or till the date of the establishment of the business premises. Additionally, for industries falling in the white category the consent to operate for the green category, is up to ten years, whereas for industries falling in the red and orange category, it is five years.

Renewal of consent granted by HSPCB

The registered holder of HPCB consent shall make an application for renewal to the Haryana Pollution Control Board in 90 days advance of the expiry of the consent. Such renewal of the consent shall be valid for two years only. For getting renewal the same process as the application shall be followed.

Role of Agile Regulatory

Obtaining the Haryana State Pollution Control Board Consent CTE. CTO could be a tough challenge due to the vast process of the technical documents required and the processes involved in getting the consent. However, with the right guidance and consultation by expert environmental engineers of Agile Regulatory, you could acquire the Consent to Establish and Consent to operate easily within the given timeline. At Agile Regulatory we are committed to helping industrialists’ entrepreneurs by enabling them to get business licenses like HSPCB CTE and CTO smoothly.