“The District Officer’s unilateral decision to propose a different category has raised questions about procedural compliance”
K Koushal
Member Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (PCC) has shot a ‘show cause’ letter to a district officer PCC Kathua for allegedly proposing Polyester Staple Fiber and B2B RBET Granules activity under orange zone, in an apparent violation of set guidelines and bypassing senior authorities.
According to the documents, the District Officer of the Pollution Control Committee (PCC) Kathua, Surinder Kumar Tripathi has been asked to provide justification for proposing the activity of recycled polyester staple fiber and B2B RBET Granules under the orange category.
Sources said, “District Officer PCC Kathua bypassed senior authorities in making this proposal. This has raised concerns as the activity falls under the red category, which requires stricter regulatory oversight,” adding that the documents referred to a letter issued by the Assistant Director (Development) of the Department of Industries and Commerce.
The authority to categorize industrial activities rests with the Divisional Officer of the PCC. The District Officer’s unilateral decision to propose a different category has raised questions about procedural compliance.
“The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in New Delhi has categorized various industrial sectors into red, orange, green, and white categories as per its directives dated March 7, 2016. Any new or leftover industrial sectors are to be categorized by respective PCBs/PCCs based on the revised criteria and guidelines set by the CPCB,” reads the document, adding “To facilitate this, the J&K PCC constituted a technical committee for the categorization of new/leftover industries, as outlined in Order No. 119 JK PCC of 2023 dated September 21, 2023.”
The committee recommended that the Divisional Officers of the PCC in Jammu/Kashmir must advise applicants on the correct industrial category and sector to select when applying through the online portal. This selection should align with the proposed activity detailed in the project report (DPR). If there is a mismatch, the unit holder must rectify it before the application proceeds.
“If the proposed activity is new and not listed on the J&K OCMMS, the unit holder should submit relevant documents, including the DPR, to the Member Secretary for inclusion in the J&K OCMMS before submitting the online application,” reads document, adding “The Member Secretary will issue an order for the inclusion of the new activity in the J&K OCMMS after the technical committee reviews the case and it receives approval from the competent authority.”
