Tamil Nadu Pollution board rolls out law to expedite the consent and renewal process, industry positive about decision

New Delhi, Nov 8 (KNN) In order to counter the delays in the pollution consent, a law has been introduced in Tamil Nadu by the state pollution control board, responding to which the industry comprising of a fair share of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have welcomed the decision.

Talking to KNN, C.K Mohan, General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) said that the industry was expecting this law from the government .

The TNPCB (Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board) has been issuing online consent/renewal through the OCMMS (Online Consent Management and Monitoring System) since 2015 but now it has been introduced as a law and there is a possibility that it would be followed and if not followed anyone can go to court.

The step has been taken to improve the ease of doing business in India, he added.

Mohan further informed that earlier the consent process used to take 6 months - 2 years but now consent would be given within 15 days of registration.

The TNPCB on Monday made it mandatory for the industries to resubmit the consent and renewal applications.

TNPCB in a statement stated that many industries during the process of obtaining consent/renewal of consent orders, were not prompt in submitting applications that were picked out for errors.

From 10 November TNPCB will send out SMS and email alerts to industries whose applications have been pending for more than 15 days.

If there is no response to these alerts, on the 61st day (for small and medium scale industries) and on the 91st day (for large scale industries), the board will delete the pending consent application forms from its Online Consent Management and Monitoring System (OCMMS). (KNN/AG)