The Government of India has amended the Uniform Consent Guidelines notified under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, to further streamline the consent mechanism for industries across all states and Union territories. The move is intended to reduce procedural delays while strengthening environmental governance through a uniform, transparent and accountable framework.

The guidelines, first issued last year, standardise the process for granting, refusing or cancelling Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate across the country. A key reform introduced through the amendments is the provision for consolidated consent and authorisation. State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees can now process a single application and issue integrated permissions covering consents under the Air and Water Acts, along with authorisations required under various waste management rules. This integration is expected to reduce multiple applications, shorten approval timelines and maintain robust provisions for monitoring, compliance and cancellation.

The amendments are aimed at ensuring faster, clearer and more efficient approvals without diluting environmental safeguards. They also seek to reduce uncertainty and operational disruption caused by delays in the renewal of Consent to Operate, while enabling regulators to focus on effective inspections and enforcement.

A major change relates to the validity of Consent to Operate. Under the revised guidelines, once granted, the consent will remain valid until it is cancelled. Environmental compliance will continue to be enforced through periodic inspections, and consent may be withdrawn in case of violations. This change removes the need for repeated renewals, reduces paperwork and compliance costs for industries, and ensures continuity of operations. In addition, the processing time for granting consent to Red Category industries has been reduced from 120 days to 90 days.

To further expedite processing, the amended framework allows Registered Environmental Auditors, certified under the Environment Audit Rules, 2025, to conduct site visits and verify compliance, alongside inspections by SPCB officials. This is expected to strengthen verification while allowing boards to concentrate resources on high-risk industries.

Special provisions have been introduced for micro and small enterprises located in notified industrial estates or areas. For such units, Consent to Establish will be deemed granted upon submission of a self-certified application, as the land has already been assessed from an environmental standpoint.

The amendments also replace rigid minimum-distance siting norms with site-specific environmental assessments. This allows competent authorities to prescribe safeguards based on local conditions, such as proximity to water bodies, human settlements, heritage structures and ecologically sensitive zones.

States and Union territories have also been allowed to prescribe a one-time Consent to Operate fee for periods ranging from five to 25 years, reducing repetitive fee collection and administrative processing. A uniform definition of ‘capital investment’ has been introduced to remove ambiguity in fee assessment and ensure consistency across jurisdictions.

The revised guidelines retain strong safeguards, including provisions for refusal or cancellation of consent in cases of non-compliance, violation of consent conditions, environmental damage or location in prohibited areas. Overall, the amendments aim to balance ease of doing business with environmental protection through continuous monitoring, trust-based regulation and a uniform national consent mechanism.