No dual eco-clearance for 39 categories of industry
Environment Ministry accepts long-standing demand of industry to remove requirement of environmental clearance and consent to establish; this will reduce compliance burden, it says
Saying that it has complied with a “long standing demand by industry,” the Union Environment Ministry has exempted 39 categories of industries from the mandatory requirement of approaching State pollution control boards for permission to run their industries.

These include, among others, manufacturing units to make solar cells and modules, wind and hydel power units; fly ash bricks/ block manufacturing; leather cutting and stitching and assembly of air coolers /conditioners, repairing and servicing. All of these sectors are categorised as ‘white category’ industries, meaning that they are the least polluting in nature, according to a 2016 classification by the Central Pollution Control Board.