The Board has adopted several innovative approaches to achieve quick and effective results for protecting and preserving the environment of the State, which include:

Some of the approaches set and followed by the Board for discharge of its functions is given below.

Under the provisions of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, any industry, operation or process or an extension and addition thereto, which is likely to discharge sewerage or trade effluent into the environment or likely to emit any air pollution into the atmosphere will have to obtain consent of the State Pollution Control Board. There are different types of consent issued under the provisions of Water (P &CP) Act 1974 and Air (P&CP) Act, 1981.

Depending upon the pollution potential of different industries, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) has classified the industrial units into three different categories: 'Red', 'Orange' and 'Green'. The Red category units have maximum pollution potential, the Orange category units have moderate pollution potential and the Green units have the least pollution potential. Further, considering the degree of pollution among the Red units, these are classified into ‘Special Red’ and ‘Ordinary Red’ categories. Also a few units under the Green category with no pollution potential are classified as ‘Exempted’ category units. Grossly polluted industries were identified for regulatory compliance on an immediate basis. These are under strict monitoring schedule of the Board.

The WBPCB ensures that compliance to environmental standards is attained through negotiated agreements and technical guidance. Under the siting policy of the Board, the red industries are not permitted in Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) areas, and orange industries are not permitted in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) areas, except the industrial estates of KMC and HMC. This policy does not permit a few water-intensive and highly polluting industrial units having high water consumption within 10-km radius of the Calcutta Leather Complex at Bantala.

The technical committee, the Consent Committees and the Task Force Committees are recommending bodies, and are not empowered to take final decision of any kind. The technical committee at the Board’s headoffice provide technical inputs for 32 industries of the special red category requiring clearance from the Government of India, review EIA/EMP reports and examine matters related to public hearing. Consent committees (‘Consent for Establishment’ (CFE) and ‘Consent for Operation’ (CFO) separately) looks after matters related to consent administration for the headoffice, circle offices and other regional offices of the Board. In addition, the ‘Task Force Committee’ looks into details necessitating directions including closure/reopening of industries, imposition of bank guarantee, imposition of pollution cost as well as to recommend on the issue of such directions. The working of these Committees involve stakeholder participation including views from industries, non-governmental organisations, etc

Public hearing is a transparent method adopted by the WBPCB for resolving the public problems related to environmental issues. The WBPCB hearing authority is composed of a retired Judicial Magistrate and other legal and technical officers of the Board. After careful consideration of the representations from both the complainant and the aggrieved, necessary directions are issued. If the directions are complied with within a time schedule, the case is disposed off. Otherwise, legal actions are taken against the errant unit during subsequent hearings. In the ultimate case, closure order is issued until the unit adopts an adequate precautionary arrangement for control of pollution. In case the complaint is found to be beyond the legal jurisdiction of the Board, necessary suggestion letter or letter of direction are immediately sent to the concerned authorities. This process is diagrammatically represented below.

Following the general practice, the public lodges pollution-related complaints by directly approaching the office of the Board. Recently, the process of lodging a complaint at the WBPCB was made simple. One can now lodge a complaint by just clicking www.emis.wbpcb.gov.in and submitting the necessary information related to the complaint. Almost immediately, the complaints are acknowledged, inquired, inspected and subsequently redressed during a hearing in presence of both the parties involved. The Board punishes the defaulters with bank guarantees as well as with notices of disconnection of electricity and closure.

In exercise of the power conferred by the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977, the Department of Environment, Government of West Bengal issued a notification, where the Governor specified the West Bengal Pollution Control Board as the authority to collect the cess. The cess would be collected from the person or the local authority liable to pay the same under the said Act and would remit the amount so collected to the consolidated Fund of the Govrnment of India in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed.

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West Bengal Pollution Control Board
Paribesh Bhavan,10A, Block-L.A
Sector III, Salt Lake City,Calcutta - 700 098
wbpcbnet@wbpcb.gov.in