CHENNAI: In a move welcomed by the business community, the state government on Sunday announced that the pollution control board would now issue consent to operate (CTO) certificates for periods between five to 14 years for various categories of industries, instead of insisting on annual or biennial renewals.
So far, CTO certificates were issued for one year for red category industries and for two years each for orange and green category industries. Under the new system, the red category industries will get certificates valid for five years, orange category industries will get them for 10 years, and green category industries for 14 years.
The CTO should be issued to an industry within 45 days from the date of application. But, it takes up to three months now.
PCB officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the board’s other work got affected because of the annual exercise of renewing certificates and monitoring red and orange category industries. Hence, the decision to extend the validity of the certificates.
Welcoming the announcement, Israr Ahmed, chairman, Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said: “This is a very good move by the state government, as the form of yearly renewal is outdated. Every renewal has been made online now.”
The new announcement will help the industry to do business without any difficulty. It also will reduce the cost of doing business and it's hassle-free too, he said.
Ravi Reddy, proprietor of a hatchery, which falls under the orange category, said earlier the preparatory work to renew a certificate once in two years had to be started three months before its expiry. The new system will help in saving time for the entrepreneurs. The state government had announced an industry-friendly step, which will be welcomed by all, he added.
