CM fast-tracks pollution clearance for ease of biz
Vijayawada: The state government moved to accelerate industrial approvals while tightening environmental compliance, with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directing the Pollution Control Board (PCB) to overhaul its permitting timelines and monitoring systems.
Reviewing departments at the Secretariat on Monday, Chief Minister instructed officials to align pollution-clearance processes with the state’s “speed of doing business” targets. Under the revised norms, industries classified in the red category must receive permissions within 12 days, orange-category units within 10 days and green-category units within three days.
He said faster clearances should not dilute environmental standards and ordered the adoption of advanced technologies for continuous air-quality monitoring integrated into the Aware-2.0 platform.
Naidu said all sewage treatment plants must be made operational at the earliest and asked officials to intensify oversight on mining pollution.
He directed departments to pursue a comprehensive policy to eliminate plastic waste and transition the state toward net-zero pollution.
The state will conduct detailed studies on air, water, industrial waste, bio-waste and plastic contamination, and apply technology-based enforcement, starting with warnings followed by penal action for repeat violations.
Special emphasis was placed on plastic management. Naidu instructed officials to curb single-use plastics in both urban and rural areas and ensure that all waste streams are integrated with circular-economy practices. He said bio-medical waste generated across 15,526 health-care facilities must be mandatorily disposed of within 48 hours, with CCTV-based monitoring to ensure compliance.
The Chief Minister also flagged environmental risks from excessive plastic use in micro-irrigation systems and urged awareness programmes to encourage farmers to shift to biodegradable sheets. Training modules will be prepared for pollution control, environmental protection and field-level implementation.
PCB chairman Krishnaiah requested additional staff to manage the expanded responsibilities, and Naidu agreed to the proposal. Senior officials from Urban Development, Panchayat Raj and Medical and Health departments participated.