Overview of Gujarat Pollution Control Board

Gujarat Pollution Control Board, commonly known as GPCB, was constituted by the Government of Gujarat on 15th October 1974 under the provision of the Water Act, 1974. The basic functions of the GPCB are pollution control and protection of the environmental quality with sustainable development.GPCB has been tasked with issuing consent NOCs to industries and authorisation certificates to specific services in the State.GPCB also organises awareness programmes from time to time on local issues of municipal solid wastes, bio-medical wastes and plastic waste issues, besides water, air and land pollution generated from various industries. Stress is also given on building environmental infrastructures to meet challenges of environmental pollution under the 'Swarnim Gujarat' programmes of the Government of Gujarat. The Board is tackling several critical issues related to the environment through its 28 regional Offices that carry out intense monitoring of industrial effluents, gaseous emissions and hazardous waste disposal systems. The Board critically examines the location clearance cases. It determines various conditions and requirements pertaining to environmental pollution control, which is likely to pollute water or air due to various processes/ operations. The Gujarat Pollution Control Board enforces provisions of the following Acts, Rules and Directives issued by the central and State authorities from time to time.

• The Water (P&CP) Act, 1974
• The Water (P&CP) Cess Act, 1977
• The Air (P&CP) Act, 1981
• The Environment (Protection) Act,1986
• The Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules,2016.
• The Plastic Waste (Management) Rules, 2016
• The Bio-Medical Waste Rules of 2016
• The Construction and Demolition Waste Rules of 2016
• The E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016
• The Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989
• The Coastal Zone Regulation-Declaration Notification, 1991.
• The Environmental Clearance [including EIA-Environment, Impact Assessment] for expansion/modernisation of activity or new projects, Procedure Notification, 1994
• The Environmental Public Hearing Rules, 1997.
• The Rules for the Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous micro-organism.
• Genetically Engineered Organism Cess, 1989.
• The utilisation of Fly Ash- Notification of Direction, 1989.
• The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.
• The Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.
• The Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules
• The Batteries (Management & Handling) Rules, 2001
• The Environmental Audit Scheme, 1996.
• The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991.
• The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.
• The Environmental Audit Scheme-1996 with 2014 modification

The Public Liability insurance Act 1991

Functions of Gujarat Pollution Control Board

Apart from issuing pollution NOC and authorisation certificates, the Board performs critical advisory functions for the State Government and lays down wastewater disposal and gaseous emission standards. GPCB advises concerned authorities and the Gujarat Government on siting or location of industries in accordance with the provisions of Section 17 of the Water Act, 1974 and the Environmental Guidelines given by the MoEF&CC. The main functions of the Board are

• To improve the quality of the air and water streams and wells in the State.
• Promoting reuse and recycling of sewage and trade effluent for irrigation and for industrial purposes after giving appropriate treatment.
• Minimisation of the effect of pollution by selecting suitable locations for the establishment of new industrial projects/estates.
• Development of procedures and methods for reuse, recycling and disposal of hazardous wastes and Identification of sites for such facilities.
• Encourage the creation of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) and Treatment Stabilization Disposal Facilities (TSDFs), Biomedical waste disposal facilities(CBMWTF) and e-waste recycling facilities.
• To create environmental awareness to handle the environmental issues through close coordination with educational institutions, Industrial associations, non-government organisations, government organisations, etc.

Scope of Waste Management Industries in Gujrat

Over the years the scope of GPCBhas grown necessitating the demand for skill to handle complex laws and challenging tasks of stringent standards of performance.There are 5650 industrial effluent treatment plants and 4931 control gaseous emission devices in the State. There are 7 common and 14 individual TSDFs in operation for hazardous waste disposal, and three more have been identified and notified.About 27.414 Million MT of waste of various kinds has been co-processed in the State from 2009-10 till November 2020.

Documents Required for Consent NOCs by Gujarat Pollution Control Board

Consent to Establish, Formerly Known as NOC/No Objection Certificates/ Location Clearance, is required for the Green, Orange and Red Category types of Industrial Unitsand is given before the establishment of the industry. CTE and CTO are mandatory as per the Air Act and The Water Act. Authorisation under specific Rules is also required in case of such waste being generated by anestablishment.When the industry is ready to operate, the application for Consent to operate or Consolidated Consent and Authorisation/ CCA (in case authorisation is required) is made. Below is a common list of documents required.

• Application processing fees (consent fee) for five years with the break-up.
• Lay Out plan (showing the total open Land, location of vents, stacks, drainage system for effluent and Solid waste collection/ storage/ disposal facility)
• Names and addresses of partners and directors, along with contact information
• Details of ETP along with flow diagram
• Break-up of water uses and water balance
• Letter of membership of CETP (if applicable)
• Test report of treated and untreated effluent (Air, water and Hazardous solid waste for Schedule II category from Laboratory specified under Hazardous Waste Rules)
• Details of the manufacturing process, with process flow diagram and all chemical equations.
• Details of air pollution control measures: stack/ chimney for flue gas and process emission.
• List of raw materials, products and by-products.
• A. Certificate for the project (if SSI unit)
• Form I of Environmental Clearance (if applicable)
• Any other document requireddepending upon specific waste generated (i.e. Hazardous waste, bio-medical waste etc.)

Steps to Obtain Consent NOC from Gujarat Pollution Control Board

Gujrat Pollution Control Board has the authority to issueseveral licences and authorisation certificates. The procedure for Consent related application is explained below.

Additional Licences and Awarded By GPCB

Apart from Consent to Establish/ Operateunder Air and Water Act, the GPCB also deals with the following licences and activities.

• No Objection Certificate for Location
• Consolidated Consent and authorisation (CCA)
• Authorisation for Collection, reception, treatment, transport, storage and disposal under Hazardous Waste (Management) Rules, 2016.
• Water Cess Returns
• Environment Statement
• Authorisation and the renewalfor Biomedical Waste Management (For HCFs and CBMWTF) under the Biomedical Waste (Management) Rules, 2016
• Environment Clearance
• Annual report on Management of Solid Waste (for the local body)
• Authorisation for C&D waste Management under Construction &Demolition Waste Rules, 2016

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