Regulatory Services

Consent to Establish/Operate/Renewal

Prior to commencement of construction work for a project, industries/developers/entrepreneurs are required to obtain Consent to Establish or an NOC (No Objection Certificate) under the Air (Prevention & Control) of Pollution Act, 1981, Water (Prevention & Control) of Pollution Act, 1974 and Hazardous Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1989. The consent obtained from the Pollution Control Board ensures that the project is within environmental norms specified by the Board and has in place the appropriate mitigation measures.

Once the project or industry or process plant is established along the required pollution control systems, the entrepreneur is required to obtain consent to operate the unit. This consent is given for a particular period, which needs to be renewed regularly.

Environmental Clearance

Any individual who desires to undertake any new project in any part of India or the expansion or modernization of any existing industry or project listed in the Schedule-I shall submit an application to the Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi.

After application for NOC (Consent to Establish) an Environment Clearance should be obtained under the Environment Impact Assessment notification, 2006. During this time the State Environment Impact Assessment authority at State level or the Ministry of Environment & Forests at the centre will specify the requirement of an Environment Impact Assessment Report for documentation of baseline project conditions, potential impacts and possible mitigation measures.

Forest Clearance

Under the Forest Conservation Rules, 2003, every user agency who wants to use any forest land for non-forest purpose shall have to submit an application to the Chief Conservator of Forests of the concerned regional office of the Ministry of Environment of Forests.

CRZ Clearance

The Central Government demarcated Coastal Regulation Zones and imposed restrictions on setting up and expansion of industries, operations and process under the Coastal Regulatory Zone notification (CRZ), September 2010. The notification declares five zones which fall under CRZ and have varying levels of restrictions on development depending on their ecological significance and sensitivity. Prior clearance has to be sought from the Coastal Zone Management Authority of each state for undertaking development projects.

Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)

EIA is a study to predict the effect of a proposed activity/project on the environment. A decision making tool, we apply EIA to compare various alternatives for a project and to seek to identify the one which represents the best combination of economic and environmental costs and benefits. To be effective, it requires the active involvement of all concerned stakeholders including the regulators.

Environmental Audits & Due Diligence

We conduct Environmental Audits and Due Diligence (DD) for both compliance and improvement. Compliance covers Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) as well as labour standards. Improvement assessments are equally important where the objective is to assess how well the systems have been functioning to meet the agreed targets.