Eight-month ban on new projects in 43 industrial hubs

The Ministry of Environment and Forests today imposed an eight-month moratorium on new projects in 43 industrial hubs identified recently by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as “critically” polluted. “The restriction comes into effect immediately. It will remain in effect till August. By then, the pollution watchdog will finalise a time-bound action plan for improving the environmental quality in these clusters,” a senior ministry official said.

The aim is to give some breathing space where the extent of damage has surpassed the hub’s capacity with respect to one or more environment components, the official added. The moratorium will also be imposed on expansion of existing projects in these clusters, he said.

Last month, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had released a first of its kind Comprehensive Environmental Assessment of Industrial Clusters, covering 88 industrial hubs across the country. It had said areas having aggregated Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index (CEPI) scores of 70 and above should be considered as “critically polluted”.

Areas having CEPI between 60-70 should be considered as severely polluted and should be kept under surveillance and pollution control measures should be efficiently implemented, it had said. The ministry plans to take up the matter with the finance minister to ensure the provision of a “clean-up fund” in the next Budget to undertake remedial measures in these areas.