Punjab government announces major relaxations to boost investment by industry during pandemic

Punjab government led by Captain Amarinder Singh has announced a slew of relaxations for industry, including the extension of validity of statutory clearances without inspection. Detailed guidelines to this effect have been issued by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), which finalised the relaxations, on the directives of the Chief Minister, at its 184th meeting. The move is aimed at further easing the process of obtaining statutory clearances in these difficult circumstances, said a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office. Adding, it said that the relaxations will help instill confidence among investors and encourage them to invest in the state during the current pandemic in a hassle-free manner. As per the PPCB Chairman Prof. S.S. Marwaha, the Board has extended the validity of Consent to Establish/Operate, Authorization, Registration and any other mandatory regulatory clearances up to June 30, 2020, in view of the COVID crisis. The validity of the said clearances has also been further extended up to March 31, 2021, with certain stipulations on submission of application without the conduct of any inspection by the Board. In an order to ensure the participatory regulatory compliance of the environmental regulations, the industries which were operating without the consent of the Board have been given time up to December 31, 2020, to apply for obtaining clearances under the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS), said Prof Marwah. They can do so with exemption to deposit the consent fee prior to November 1, 2018, and payment of a one-time notional fee of Rs. 5000. Also Read | People are more likely to contract coronavirus at home: Study Further, in order to facilitate brick kilns to obtain consent under the Water Act, 1974, their owners have been given exemption from depositing the consent fees prior to November 1, 2018. -PTC News