State board to now red-flag polluting industries on its website

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), the state's pollution watchdog, is soon going to put out the names of potentially high-polluting industries in the public domain. HT Correspondent reports.

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), the state's pollution watchdog, is soon going to put out the names of potentially high-polluting industries in the public domain.

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"All high-pollution potential industries will be marked as red category on the MPCB website," said Valsa Nair Singh, environment secretary.

“Within three years, we will also put orange and green categories to make the public aware on the pollution levels in companies.”

On Wednesday, Singh who was addressing industry leaders at a conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) said the industry association should form guidelines for self-regulation on safety, health and environmental (SHE) issues.

Ganesh Tripathi, conclave chairman and SHE Cluster Head, Unilever South Asia, Hindustan Lever Ltd, admitted that many industries are not transparent on their internal data on safety measures.

"To ensure sustainability of business, companies have to focus on safety of stakeholders and hence safety, health and environment cannot be avoided. The public is increasingly becoming aware of importance of safety,” he said.
Milon Nag, chairman, CII Maharashtra State Council said SHE has become one of the top agenda among Indian companies and management system implementation should ensure hazard-free production process.