Environment Ministry amends the guidelines for grant, refusal or cancellation of consent under the Air and Water Act

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (“Ministry”) has notified the following Amendment Guidelines:

• The Control of Air Pollution (Grant, Refusal or Cancellation of Consent) Amendment Guidelines, 2026 under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and
• The Control of Water Pollution (Grant, Refusal or Cancellation of Consent) Amendment Guidelines, 2026 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

The Amendment Guidelines amends the validity period of consents, 1 time fee, MSME consent etc. This is effective immediately.

Key Amendments:

1. Consent Validity- The consent to operate, once granted, will now be valid till it is cancelled instead of different validity period for different industry categories.

2. Fees- One-time fee will be determined by the State Government or Union territory Administration for consent to operate for any duration of period of 5 to 25 years as may be applied for by the Project Proponent. The Project Proponent will have to pay such fee for further extension of period from 5 to 25 years, after the expiry of such period for which one-time fee has been paid earlier.

3. Consent to Establish for MSMEs- Consent to establish will be deemed to be granted once the self-certified application is submitted in the prescribed form by the concerned Project Proponent.

4. Timelines for Consent- The time period for granting or refusing of consent to establish and consent to operate, first time has been done away with. Further, grant or refusal of renewal of consent or expansion or amendment, the timeline has been reduced for red, orange and green category industries.

5. Location Criteria- The minimum distance criteria for establishing an industrial plant has been done away with. Now, the Specific and /or General conditions related to establishing a new industrial unit at a location along with the appropriate environment safeguards and/ or mitigation measures will be imposed by the concerned Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) at the Central /State level, and in other cases, by the concerned State Board.

6. Renewal of Consent- The Amendment Guidelines omits the requirement of renewal of consent. The term renewal has also been omitted from forms and schedules.

Source: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change