Business setup

How will businesses benefit from West Bengal’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB)Initiatives?

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) released a set of recommendations for the States under the Ease of Doing Business initiative to facilitate the setting up of new industries and business by simplification of business setup process, time-bound delivery of services, ease of access to information, transparency in inspection procedures etc. In West Bengal, various state departments have been assigned a wide range of activities. The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB)^[1] has been vested with numerous action points to ease and simplify the Environmental Regulations applicable to businesses and industrial units. To streamline those action points, the WBPCB, under the guidance of the Department of Environment, has issued several Orders/ Circulars/Notifications in line with the requirements of State Reform Action Points (SRAP).

DPIIT, in partnership with the World Bank Group and coordination with the States and the UTs, has undertaken many reforms to improve business climate in India. Starting with a 98-point Reform Action Plan in 2014, successive State Reforms Action Plans (SRAP) were released by DPIIT, covering more areas of reform towards Ease of Doing Business. The Action Plan aims to lay out a series of reforms targeted at increasing transparency and efficiency of regulatory framework and services for businesses in India.

Ease of Doing Business Initiatives byWBPCB

The services covered under the Ease of Doing Business Initiatives from WBPCB include

S.L	Name of the Certificate/ service
1	Consent to Establish under the Water Act, 1974 and the Air  Act, 1981
2	Consent to Operate (Fresh & Renewal) under Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act, 1981
3	Renewal of Consent to Operate (Auto-renewal) under the Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act, 1981, based on self-certification
4	Authorisation (Fresh & Renewal) under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016
5	Authorisation (Fresh & Renewal) under Bio-medical Waste Management Rule 2016
6	Authorisation (Fresh & Renewal) under the E-waste Management Rules, 2016
7	Registration (Fresh & Renewal) under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.

Note: State Reform Action Plan (SRAP) 2020-21 consists of 301 reform points related to publishing updated information on the departmental portal, notifying exclusive use of online services & their timelines under the WBRTPS Act and having a dashboard for such online services in the public domain.

Steps taken by the WBPCBin compliance with Ease of Doing Business Reforms

The WBPCB has implemented the following reforms in compliance with Ease of Doing Business reforms.

• Reduce documentation burden for pollution clearance
• Simplifying the list of documents for all services and removal of physical touchpoints for submission of applications.
• Ensuring time-bound pollution clearances have been implemented by reducing the application processing timeline.
• Exemption of industries under ‘White’ and ‘Exempted’ categories from No clearance/consent process.
• Introducing auto-renewal of Consent to Operate based on self-certification/third-party certification has been implemented.
• Extending the validity period of CTE to 7 years and CTO to 7 years for the ‘Green’ category and five years for the ‘Orange’ & ‘Red’ categories.

Category of Industries	Previous Validity Period	Present Validity Period
Green	5 years	7 years
orange	4 years	5 years
Red	3 years	5 years

• Implemented the online submission of returns through WB’s Online Consent Management and Monitoring (OCMMS) for the Industries/projects under the provisions of various Waste Management Rules.
• Introducing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for inspection.
• Computerised risk assessment of industries and allocation of inspectors are being done.
• Online submission of inspection reports within 48 working hours has been introduced as a part of Ease of Doing Business.
• Integration with Online Central Inspection System (CIS) developed by Labour Department, the West Bengal government with the Labour Commissionerate, Factory Directorate, Boiler Inspector and Legal Metrology for high-risk (red category) establishment is in place.
• Process for online systems for the above services is integrated with the Single Window Portal of Silpasathi designed as a part of the Ease of Doing Business initiative.
• Published notification mandating that each draft business regulation is published online for at least 30 days before enactment to invite public comments/feedback and to publish the comments received and how they were addressed in the final regulation.

Simplified List of Documents Required for the CTE/ CTO services under the Ease of Doing Business initiative

Application processed by the DIC

Name of Service	Revised List of Documents Required
Consent to Establish under Green Category	1. Identity proof (EPIC / Aadhaar / Driving License / PAN Card /] Passport) 2.Proof of Ownership / Legal occupancy (Rent agreement, Rent receipt, Parcha, Land deed, Lease documents etc., as applicable).
Consent to Operate (Fresh) for the Green category	1.Identity proof (EPIC / Aadhaar / Driving License / PAN Card /] Passport), 2.Proof of Ownership / Legal occupancy (Rent agreement, Rent receipt, Parcha, Land deed, Lease documents etc., as applicable). 3.Copy of CTE certificate along with compliance status
Consent to Operate (Renewal) [for Green Category	1.Identity proof of the applicant (EPIC / Aadhaar / Driving License / PAN Card /] Passport), 2.Proof of Ownership / Legal occupancy (Rent agreement, Rent receipt, Parcha, Land deed, Lease documents etc.). 3.Status of compliance with previous directions/ conditions (if any)

CTE and CTO for other Establishment

Consent to Establish	1. Copy of Environmental Clearance for EC attracting projects. 2. Any land-related document (rent agreement, rent receipt, land deed, porcha, lease document. 3.Gross Capital Investment Certificate (Self-certified Undertaking). 4.Self-certified Site plan/layout with Road map / Route map. DPR with details of Emission, Effluent, Solid waste management plan, raw materials, finished products, and manufacturing process, including a list of machinery.
Consent to Operate (CFO) Fresh	1. Copy of Environmental Clearance for EC attracting projects. 2.Any land-related document (rent agreement, rent receipt, land deed, porcha, lease document. 3.Gross Capital Investment Certificate (Self-certified Undertaking). 4.Self-certified Site plan / layout with Road map / Route map. 5.Detailed Project Report with details of Emission, Effluent, Solid waste management plan, raw materials, finished products, manufacturing process, including the list of machinery. 6.Copy of CFE certificate along with compliance status. 7.Compliance status of Environmental Clearance (for EC attracting unit)
Consent to Operate CFO) (Renewal)	1.Copy of EC for EC attracting projects. 2.Any land-related document (rent agreement, rent receipt, land deed, porcha, lease document. 3. Gross Capital Investment Certificate (Self-certified Undertaking). 4.Self-certified Site plan / layout with Road map / Route map. 4.DPR with details of Emission, Effluent, Solid waste management plan, raw materials, finished products, manufacturing process, including the list of machinery. 5.Status of compliance with previous directions/conditions (if any). 6.Current test reports for emission and effluent (done within the last year)

Simplified List of Documents Required Authorisation related Services under the Ease of Doing Business initiative

Name of Service	Revised List of Documents Required
Consent to Establish under Green Category	1. Identity proof (EPIC / Aadhaar / Driving License / PAN Card /] Passport) 2.Proof of Ownership / Legal occupancy (Rent agreement, Rent receipt, Parcha, Land deed, Lease documents etc., as applicable).
Consent to Operate (Fresh) for the Green category	1.Identity proof (EPIC / Aadhaar / Driving License / PAN Card /] Passport), 2.Proof of Ownership / Legal occupancy (Rent agreement, Rent receipt, Parcha, Land deed, Lease documents etc., as applicable). 3.Copy of CTE certificate along with compliance status
Consent to Operate (Renewal) [for Green Category	1.Identity proof of the applicant (EPIC / Aadhaar / Driving License / PAN Card /] Passport), 2.Proof of Ownership / Legal occupancy (Rent agreement, Rent receipt, Parcha, Land deed, Lease documents etc.). 3.Status of compliance with previous directions/ conditions (if any)

Simplified List of Documents for Registration of Plastic related Businesses under the Ease of Doing Business initiative

Registration under PWM Rules, 2016 (Fresh)	1.Copy of CTE/CTO (if applicable) 2.Clearance from local body / Trade licence.
Registration under PWM Rules, 2016 (Renewal)	1.Copy of CTE/CTO (if applicable) 2.Clearance from local body / Trade licence 3.An Action Plan endorsed by the Secretary in charge of Urban Development of the State for setting up of plastic waste management system.

Reduced Timeline for Faster Disposal of Applications under the Ease of Doing Business Initiative

Service to be rendered	Previous Timeline	Reduced Timeline
CTE and CTO for green category (with capital investment up to Rs.5 crore except industries located within Calcutta Leather Complex)	15 days	72 hours
CTE for red category (with investment above ten cr) [other than EC attracting industries], and Health care units (with 50 to 200 beds)	If in red category – 60 days	30 days
CTE and CTO (fresh & renewal) for Health care units (more than 200 beds)	If in red category- 60 days	30 days
CTE and CTO (fresh & renewal) for stone quarries and stone crushing industries	If in red category- 60 days	30 days
CTE for industries Activities / Buildings / Projects attracting EIA	Red-60 days Orange-30 days	Red-15 days Orange-15 days
Biomedical Waste Authorization, for fresh & renewal (from 50 beds and above)	60 days	30 days
Municipal Solid Waste Authorization (fresh & renewal)	60 days	30 days
Authorisation under E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 (fresh & renewal)	120 days	30 days

Conclusion

West Bengal was ranked 9th in the country, implementing all 187 business reforms mandated under the State Business Action Reform Plan 2019-20. DPIIT recently launched the latest State Reform Action Plan (SRAP), 2020-21, for implementation by the States, which consists of 301 recommendations for reforms on regulatory processes, policies, practices and procedures classified into 15 Reform Areas. Seeing the previous performance of West Bengal towards simplifying the business setup process and the increased rate of application disposal, the present SRAP will further assist in EODB for new and upcoming projects. All these initiatives have surely provided the needed assistance from the state government’s end for new entrepreneurs. However, the other legalities of setting up a business still need to be complied with. Assistance in the licencing process through experts with a proven track record will surely aid in the speedy and hassle-free setup of a business in the state.