New Delhi, In a move designed to accelerate industrial development and reduce regulatory friction, India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has clarified that individual manufacturing units located within notified industrial estates, parks or special economic zones will no longer require separate prior environmental clearance, provided the estate itself has obtained comprehensive approval and meets stringent conditions.
The clarification, issued via a memorandum on 25 November, interprets a long-standing “specific condition” in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. It aligns with the government’s broader push to streamline compliance and position India as a more attractive destination for manufacturing investment.
Under the revised guidance, an industrial estate or complex qualifies for the exemption only if:
– It has secured prior environmental clearance for the entire site, including an Environmental Management Plan approved by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) or State-level equivalent;
– Common infrastructure — such as effluent treatment plants (ETP), sewage treatment plants (STP), common boilers, green belts and waste-management facilities — is in place and operational;
– The total pollution load of the estate does not increase beyond the level appraised and approved;
– Individual units fall under pollution categories (red, orange, green or white) that normally require consent to establish/operate but not separate EIA clearance.
Units introducing new processes, substantial expansions or significant changes in product mix will still need to obtain Consent to Establish/Consent to Operate under the Air and Water Acts, but the requirement for project-specific environmental clearance is waived.
Environmental consultants welcomed the clarification as removing a long-standing ambiguity that had led to protracted delays. “Many industrial areas had obtained clearance for the estate as a whole, yet regulators were still demanding separate ECs for every new factory. This memo finally aligns practice with the original intent of the 2006 notification,” one Delhi-based consultant, who asked not to be named, told the reporters.
Industry bodies have hailed the decision as a pragmatic step towards “ease of doing business”. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had repeatedly flagged the issue in pre-budget and pre-policy consultations.
Environmental groups, however, expressed caution, warning that lax oversight of cumulative impacts within large estates could undermine pollution controls. They called for stronger monitoring mechanisms and public disclosure of estate-level compliance reports.
The ministry’s memorandum comes amid a series of recent reforms aimed at cutting red tape while retaining core environmental safeguards. Similar dispensations have been under discussion for logistics parks, IT campuses and port-based clusters.
With India targeting $1tn in manufacturing exports by 2030, the government appears determined to ensure that environmental regulation does not become a binding constraint on industrial growth. Whether the latest clarification strikes the right balance between speed and sustainability will be closely watched by investors and green advocates alike.
