Government Amends Uniform Consent Guidelines For Air And Water Acts In January 2026

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in 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, as reported in a Press Information Bureau release on January 28, 2026. The amendments seek to simplify industrial approvals, reduce procedural complexities, and strengthen environmental compliance in all states and union territories. The new guidelines encourage ease of business while maintaining pollution controls through improved monitoring.

The Previous guidelines, notified only last year, provided a uniform structure for Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO), encouraging uniformity where State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) functioned with differing levels of efficiency. Nonetheless, issues such as renewal uncertainties, processing delays, and disorganized applications continued to hinder operations and increase compliance costs for industries ranging from large-scale manufacturers to micro-enterprises. The amendments address these pain points head-on, bringing about trust-based governance that allows regulators to concentrate on high-impact enforcement rather than administrative chores. This represents a mature stage of guidelines development, where ease of business is achieved without watering down the existing standards of protection, as seen in the retention of powers for refusal of consent or cancellation in violation of cases. As India advances towards its net-zero targets and 'Make in India' vision, this guideline represents pragmatic environmentalism that streamlines approvals to attract investments while incorporating continuous monitoring.¹

• Background of Consent Guidelines

Notified originally last year, the guidelines provide a standardized national framework for the grant, refusal, or cancellation of Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO). The guidelines address the discrepancies in the consent management process among the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in the past. The amendments further improve upon this foundation to ease industry burdens and expedite operations without undermining environmental safeguards.

• The Control of Water Pollution (Grant, Refusal or Cancellation of Consent) Amendment Guidelines, 2026²

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, as notified on January 23, 2026, builds upon the 2025 framework to transform the way industrial wastewater is managed. Under Section 27A, these amendments require a Consolidated Consent and Authorization procedure in a single step, combining Section 25 consents with authorizations for Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 waste notifications, thus reducing unnecessary filings and streamlining approvals for effluent releases. The processing period for expansion or modification notifications is set at 90/60/30 days, and if no response is received, it is deemed approved after 30 days, while site selection abandons fixed distance criteria in favour of customized, reality-based assessments to empower Expert Appraisal Committees (EACs) or SPCBs to specify specific conditions to safeguard against waterbody pollution or ecological hazards. Deemed Consent to Establish (CTE) for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in notified complexes comes into effect immediately after self-certified Form-I filing, recognizing pre-screened land and relieving small-scale enterprises from prolonged screening. Improvements in procedures enable proponents to engage Registered Environment Auditors for inspections of discharge points, supplementing SPCB officers to check application validity and emission standards quickly.

• The Control of Air Pollution (Grant, Refusal or Cancellation of Consent) Amendment Guidelines, 2026³

Under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, this efficiency drive is reflected through Section 21A, focusing on ambient air quality through optimized Consent to Operate (CTO) for stack and fugitive emissions. Consolidated consents apply here as well, integrating air licenses with waste licenses to remove silos, while auditors investigate stack emissions and control devices together with officials, ensuring accurate data on particulate matter, SOx, NOx, and VOCs right away. Location-based conditions substitute general minima, with EACs/SPCBs fine-tuning mitigations for stacks in urban areas close to habitations or sensitive areas, and MSEs obtaining auto-CTE in recognized clusters. Schedules match exactly (90 days for Red expansions), and forms remove renewal notices, indicating an endless CTO system enforced through inspections rather than renewal cycles. Both Acts begin to strictly enforce a single national online platform obligatory on CPCB within 6-12 months as the only destination for applications, verifications, rejections, and data storage, imposing 5% charges to strengthen central regulation (Water: Section 36; Air: Section 33). Capital investment clarity in Schedule II standardizes fees (fixed assets like plants/machinery sans O&M; 10x lease equivalent), while cancellation safeguards persist for effluent violations or ambient breaches. These Act-specific tweaks collectively fortify India's pollution regime, enabling regulators to pivot from paperwork to real-time enforcement amid rising industrial footprints.

• Key Amendments:
• Consolidated Consent

A major reform introduces Consolidated Consent and Authorisation, allowing SPCBs to handle a single application for integrated permissions. This covers consents under the Air and Water Acts plus authorisations under Waste Management Rules, slashing multiple filings and approval timelines. Strong monitoring, compliance checks, and cancellation provisions remain intact to enforce standards.

• Validity and Renewal of CTO

Consent to Operate (CTO), once granted, now stays valid indefinitely until cancelled for violations. This eliminates repeated renewals, paperwork, and renewal delays that disrupted operations. Compliance shifts to periodic inspections, with cancellation possible if violations occur, ensuring ongoing accountability.

• Faster Processing for Red Category Industries

Processing time for Red Category (high-pollution) industries drops from 120 to 90 days. Registered Environmental Auditors, certified under the 2025 Environment Audit Rules, can now perform site visits alongside SPCB officers. This dual verification accelerates grants while letting boards prioritize high-risk cases and enforcement.

• Relief for Micro and Small Enterprises

MSEs in notified industrial estates are deemed CTE approval via self-certified applications, leveraging pre-assessed land. This provision recognizes prior environmental evaluations, easing startup hurdles for small units.

• Flexible Siting and Fee Structures

Rigid minimum-distance criteria are replaced by site-specific assessments, tailoring safeguards to local factors like water bodies, settlements, monuments, or sensitive areas. States and UTs can set one-time CTO fees for 5-25 years, cutting repetitive collections. Schedule II now defines capital investment uniformly to eliminate fee ambiguities across states.

• Retained Safeguards and Enforcement

Amendments preserve refusal or cancellation powers for non-compliance, standard breaches, environmental harm, or prohibited sites. The framework emphasizes continuous monitoring, trust-based governance, and a national mechanism balancing business facilitation with protection. SPCBs/PCCs gain support for efficient applications, inspections, and operations.

• Comparison of Previous Guidelines Amended Guidelines

• Conclusion

The Uniform Consent Guidelines of India's Air and Water Acts represent a vital step in the evolution of environmental policy, harmoniously integrating the efficiency of regulation with unrelenting pollution protection. With perpetual CTO validity, reduction of Red Category notice periods to 90 days, auditors empowered for dual verification, and the first-ever consolidated consent with waste authorization, these changes remove the administrative silos that previously obstructed industries from MSEs with deemed CTEs to giants with site-specific mitigation measures. The soon to be introduced unified portal will further automate compliance, establishing a countrywide data hub that propels SPCBs/PCCs from paperwork warriors to proactive protectors of ambient and effluent quality.

For ESG practitioners and corporate counsel, this is a compliance boon: lighter administrative loads, free resources for BRSR-mandated audits, impact assessments, and sustainable disclosures, while uniform fee definitions and flexible 5-25 year structures enhance predictability. Yet, the steel core endures refusal/cancellation for violations, continuous inspections, and ecological tailoring ensure no dilution of protections against breaches in NOx, effluents, or sensitive zones. As India accelerates toward net-zero and 'Make in India' horizons, these changes exemplify pragmatic green governance: attracting FDI, sustaining MSE growth, and fortifying a resilient industrial base.

Footnotes

1 https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219415®=3⟨=1

2 https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2026/jan/doc2026128772501.pdf (Gazette id : CG-DL-E-27012026-269603)

3 https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2026/jan/doc2026128772601.pdf (Gazette id : CG-DL-E-27012026-269608)

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