The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on January 28, 2026, issued the Control of Water Pollution (Grant, Refusal or Cancellation of Consent) Amendment Guidelines, 2026 to further amend the Control of Water Pollution (Grant, Refusal or Cancellation of Consent) Guidelines, 2025.
The following amendments have been stated:
• In the said guidelines, for paragraph 3, the following paragraph shall be substituted, namely: -
"3. Form of application for consent and fees. - Every application for consent to establish or operate an industrial plant under section 25 of the Act shall be made in the Form set out under the First Schedule and shall contain the particulars of the industrial plant and such other particulars as set out in the Form and also shall be accompanied by the fee as specified by state government or Union territory Administration, as the case may be in accordance with provisions of para 5 of these guidelines.";
• In the said guidelines, in paragraph 4, for sub-paragraph (3), the following sub-paragraph shall be substituted.
“(3) Once granted, the consent to operate shall continue to remain valid till it is cancelled in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 13 of these guidelines”;
• In said guidelines, for paragraph 6, the following paragraph shall be substituted, namely: -
“6. Procedure for making enquiry on application for consent.-
(1) On receipt of an application for consent, the State Board may depute any of its officers to visit and inspect any place or premises under the control of the applicant or the occupier, for verifying the correctness or otherwise of the particulars furnished in the application or for obtaining such further particulars or information, which in the opinion of such officer are essential or the concerned Project Proponent may engage the services of Registered Environment Auditor for visiting any place or premises under the control of the applicant or the occupier, for verifying the correctness or otherwise of the particulars furnished in the application or for obtaining such further particulars or information, which in the opinion of such Registered Environment Auditor are essential.
(2) The officer of the State Board referred to in sub-paragraph (1), for that purpose, may inspect any place or premises where solid, liquid or gaseous emission from the chimney or fugitive emissions from any location within the premises are discharged, and such officer may require the applicant or the occupier to furnish to him any plans, specifications or other data relating to control equipment or systems or any part thereof that he considers necessary.
(3) The Registered Environment Auditor referred to in sub-paragraph (1), for that purpose, may visit any place or premises where solid, liquid or gaseous emission from the chimney or fugitive emissions from any location within the premises are discharged, and such Registered Environment Auditor may require the applicant or the occupier to furnish to him any plans, specifications or other data relating to control equipment or systems or any part thereof that he considers necessary.
(4) The officer referred to in sub-paragraph (1) shall, before visiting any of the premises of the applicant, give notice to the applicant of his intention to do so.
(5) The applicant shall furnish to such officer all information and provide all facilities for inspection as reasonably may be necessary.
(6) For the purpose of enabling a State Board to perform any of its functions including the functions conferred on it by or under this guideline, the State Board may engage Registered Environment Auditor in accordance with the Environment Audit Rules, 2025, and its amendments from time to time.
(7) For Micro and Small units located in Industrial Estates or Industrial area duly notified by the State Government / Union Territory Administration or the concerned local body, consent to establish shall be deemed to be granted once the self-certified application is submitted in Form-I by the concerned Project Proponent.";
• In the said guidelines, for paragraph 7, the following paragraph shall be substituted, namely: -
“7. Consolidated Consent and Authorization for Hazardous and Other Wastes: - A single-step procedure shall be adopted for granting consent under section 25 of the Act along with authorization under various Waste Management Rules notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, as may be applicable.”;
• In the said guidelines, for paragraph 9, the following paragraph shall be substituted, namely: -
“9. Procedure for selection of location – Specific and /or General conditions related to establishing a new industrial unit at a location along with the appropriate environment safeguards and/ or mitigation measures, in view of site condition on the ground shall be imposed, in the case of an industrial unit requiring Environment Clearance (EC), by the concerned Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) at the Central /State level, and in other cases, by the concerned State Board.”.
In said guidelines, for paragraph 16, the following paragraph shall be substituted, namely:-
"16. Portal for implementation of these guidelines. –
(1) The Central Board, in consultation with the State Boards, shall develop an online portal for the purposes of these guidelines, preferably within six months, and not later than one year from the date of notification of these guidelines.
(2) After the portal is operational, all applications for grant of consent under section 25 of the Act, verification, site inspection, refusal or cancellation, shall be processed and disposed of only through such portal, in all states and union territories.
(3) Till the portal becomes operational, applications for grant of consent under section 25 of the Act, including verification, site inspection, refusal or cancellation may be processed through the existing arrangement in accordance with these guidelines.
(4) The portal shall act as a single point data repository with respect to management and implementation of these guidelines.
(5) The Central Board may charge five per cent of the fee received with applications for consent to establish and operate, as service fee which shall be credited to the fund of the Central Pollution Control Board in accordance with the section 36 of the Act.".
They shall come into force on January 27, 2026.
[Notification No. G.S.R. 63(E)]
