The ministries of commerce and environment may soon find common ground on the proposed National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZ) with the latter proposing green industrial estates. Based on United Nation Environment Programme’s (UNEP) concept of green estates, these would have only one effluent outlet for irrigation purposes.
Besides, regardless of the type of industries in the NMIZ, all units will be connected to one treatment and disposal system at the lowest contour of the estate zone.
NMIZs will focus on establishing manufacturing facilities for domestic and export-led production, along with associated services and infrastructure. The processing area may include special economic zones (SEZ), industrial parks, warehousing zones and export-oriented units (EOU). These would be developed as integrated industrial townships having world-class infrastructure and are part of the National Manufacturing Policy framed by the commerce ministry.
Though the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is yet to officially propose the idea to the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), a senior MoEF official said: ?It is a doable idea and will enhance India’s manufacturing segment of GDP on the one hand and prevent industrial pollution on the other. Hence, our concept will be designed as a cost saving venture to attract industry.?
The ministry is insisting on such green estates because the government has previously initiated zonal configurations like SEZs, EOUs and industrial estates which could not meet the expected environmental requirements.
Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh had objected to the creation of NMIZs as these entail acquisition of large tracts of land and were not environment-friendly.
According to the draft manufacturing policy, an NMIZ would have an area of at least 5,000 hectares. Where land is in short supply, an NMIZ could be set up with a minimum of 2,000 hectares. State governments will be responsible for selection and acquisition of land.
Green estates will ease the process of getting environmental clearances as the approvals can be given under the ‘A’ category on the premise that the estate as a whole is one large industry unit. Hence, the proposed green estates will need to have only one effluent outlet for irrigation purposes. As per officials, DIPP has already declared that these NMIZs would not be located anywhere near any forest or eco-sensitive zone and so, forest clearance issues would not arise.
“Separate equalisation and sampling arrangements will be available at each unit so that the developer operating the treatment and disposal system can charge periodically for treatment, recovery and reuse services rendered,? the official said.
For an area of 2,000 hectare, more than one common treatment, storage, recovery and disposal facility would be required attending to clusters of units. This will not only reduce the effluent discharge but also lead to single point monitoring of air and water pollution.
As for the governance of the estates, the MoEF suggests that an empowered local authority in the manner of the SEZs in the SEZ Act can be empowered to govern the zones instead of the special purpose vehicle to develop and regulate the estates as suggested by DIPP.