KSPCB to incentivize environment compliance

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has decided to incentivize environment compliance.

Dr Shanth A. Thimmaiah, Chairman of KSPCB, was participating in an interactive session with the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) in Bengaluru. “KSPCB has signed an MoU with CII for implementing GreenCo rating certification for industries.

The industries which obtain KSPCB-CII GreenCo rating certificate will be incentivized through an one time cash prize award ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 10,00,000 depending on the scale of the industry and rating obtained.

An amount of Rs 2 crore has been earmarked in the financial year 2023-24 for the incentive scheme,” he stated. KSPCB is working on a rating system for pollution compliance, he added.

Dr Thimmaiah addressed participants from various industry sectors stating the urgent need to reduce the existing gap between policy makers and industry with regard to pollution compliance. He also answered several queries on pollution control from the industry.

In his address, Dr Thimmaiah said, “There is a trust deficit between industry and policy makers. We need to understand that production and pollution are two sides of the same coin as they are dependent on each other.

Production and Pollution should be considered equally, and by doing so you will comply with the statutory authorities, and it will also help in sustainability of the industry as well.

After taking over as Chairman, we have already visited 14 districts and conducted industry sector specific meetings to educate them about their roles and responsibilities with regard to pollution control and check compliance as per the legal document submitted by them”.

Elaborating on the gigantic proportions of waste generated by the state, Dr L Ravindran, President-BCIC said enormous quantity of sewage, industrial waste, municipal solid waste, bio-medical waste, hazardous waste, plastic waste and e-waste is generated in the State every day and the KSPCBs efforts in tackling these issues is commendable.

He said that the main aim of the interactive session with Dr Thimmaiah was to understand the expectations of KSPCB and to bring about synergies between industry and government.

Dr Thimmaiah urged the industry and associations like BCIC to take this message forward to ensure legal compliance and assured industries that KSPCB is always available for clarification and assistance.

(With IANS inputs)