Courtesy: Pollution control board [mpcb] consent
extension of time, if required or initiating further stringent action including refusal/revocation of
consent, issuance of prohibitory orders, making applications to the JMFC for restraining
apprehended pollution, filing of prosecution and/or stoppage of such polluting section etc. can be
initiated on the basis of the recommendation of consent granting authority taking into
consideration seriousness of non-compliances. While initiating actions for refusal/revocation/review
of consent conditions, due procedure laid down by the Board will be followed, which is already
placed on the website of MPCB in respect of consent management. The norms for visit and surprise
inspections, investigation of complaints, formation of squads for surprise visits, inspections and
sampling, and for initiating various legal actions will be prescribed separately in due course of
time. While initiating actions, a number of visits, surprise inspections, sampling and analytical
reports as well as investigation of complaint reports will be taken into consideration.
It was further decided that instead of procuring bank guarantees for compliance of all
conditions, the bank guarantees will be insisted only for the purpose of up-gradation of Effluent
Treatment Plants/Air Pollution Control Systems /Pollution Control Systems. The Gujarat Pollution
Control Board’s model for Bank Guarantee Regime in the cases of enforcement of up-gradation in
the existing pollution control devices will be followed, after exhausting the initial remedies, such
as show cause notice; in case of non-compliance of show cause notice, directions (proposed
directions/interim directions/final directions) are issued, in appropriate cases filing of prosecutions
and where no compliance is reported, after giving sufficient opportunity to the industry concern
to secure compliance, then, forfeiture of bank guarantees.
It was also decided to discourage obtaining of the bank guarantees for various submissions of
mandatory documents like hazardous waste returns, cess returns, e-waste submissions etc. Instead
of that, in such cases, the consents will not be renewed / granted, so that without submission of
mandatory returns on the basis of bank guarantees, consents will not be granted. This will
automatically result into compliance in respect of mandatory submissions before grant of consent.
It was decided that more reliance will be on obtaining bank guarantees for further
improvement in the form of performance bank guarantees, which will be maximum upto 10% of
the capital investment proposed on the improvement of pollution control measures. The operational
bank guarantees will be insisted more on 17 highly polluting category industries on the basis of
operational cost of pollution control devices. The amount of bank guarantees will be further
increased in cases of critically polluted industries identified by the Board on the basis of their
performance in the last year and also on the basis of incidence of serious pollution caused damage
to the environment etc. While imposing bank guarantees, the criteria for improvement measures
capital expenditure proposed and the highly polluted industries with past record will be taken
into consideration. However, the forfeiture of bank guarantees will be last resort for initiating
actions.
The amount of forfeiture of bank guarantee will be deposited in separate fund in the account
of “Environment Improvement & Environment Compliance Fund”. This fund will be utilized for
initially to take remedial measures in respect of incidence of pollution caused in that area, intensive
monitoring of the said area, common environment issues to be solved in that area, installation of
CCTV and link up to the Board’s website, Data Management & Awareness etc. The guidelines
issued by the CPCB in respect of expenditure to be incurred on environment improvement out of
cess funds and the guidelines framed by the GPCB in respect of the utilization of amount of
forfeiture of bank guarantees will be followed while spending the amount of forfeiture of bank
guarantee credited to the above fund.