In a major encouragement for new infrastructure projects development, the government removes arbitrary environmental clearance to facilitate infrastructure projects. In its recently released notification, the environment ministry has notified that building of large industrial sheds, schools, colleges and hostels of up to 150,000 square metres are now exempted from seeking a prior green nod for construction.
The government's decision will help to boost the infrastructure development in the country as this green hurdle had made it difficult to build any plant over 5 acres of land and had forced some investors to explore alternate production hubs with lesser red tape. The new norms would also help businesses build larger factories that enjoy economies of scale much faster. However, the Ministry cleared that new buildings must ensure environment management by putting in place systems for rainwater harvesting, solid and liquid waste management. Further, as per the new norms, investors may use recycled materials such as fly ash bricks' for building new factories.
Earlier, in 2013, the previous government had notified that building a factory was tantamount to undertaking a construction project and stipulated a prior environment clearance for any such industrial building with a built-up area of over 20,000 square metres. This regulation had jeopardized several greenfield and brownfield investment plans of large manufacturing players including MNC auto makers Maruti Suzuki as getting such a clearance takes two years in a best-case scenario.
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