Colour codes for industries’ pollution potential- Red and orange for green score

Industries across India are likely to be classified as red, orange or green depending on their pollution potential, under initiatives proposed by the Union environment ministry that may also allow individual units to earn stars for compliance with environmental norms.industries under this three-tier colour scheme is among a set of resolutions adopted by a conference of state environment and forests ministers that discussed how to amend regulations to improve the ease of doing business while protecting the environment.A set of 17 industries, including thermal power plants, cement factories and tanneries, would be assigned pollution scores of 60 and above and be labelled “red”. They will need to seek certification once in five years.Industries with scores between 30 and 59 will be labelled “orange” and will need to seek approval once in 10 years. Industries assigned scores below 15 will need to apply only once for a lifetime certification. The Central Pollution Control Board may borrow a concept from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and assign stars to individual industrial units whose performance exceeds the required environmental standards.The recommendations from the panelinclude a proposal to establish a National Environmental Management Authority to evaluate project proposals and provide a “single-window clearance” mechanism.