The state government will set up a centre that will help industrial units abide by environmental norms.

The environment compliance assistance centre — billed as the first of its kind in the country — will offer “critical policy inputs” to the units and also advise them on legal requirements, technology options and financial opportunities.

“The centre, being set up by the environment department with support from the department of commerce and industries, will provide all help to industrial units for better compliance of green norms,” said Sailen Sarkar, the environment minister.

The centre — to operate from the state industrial development corporation office — will function with technical and financial support from the Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN) and World Bank.

AECEN comprises representatives of 10 Asian countries, including India and China.

“Some of the units coming up in the state are in the high-pollution category. The centre will help the state pollution board ensure that these units follow the statutory environmental norms,” said Dipak Chakrabarty, the chief scientist of the state board.

Sources in the environment department said they are most concerned with metallurgical, chemical and petrochemical units.

Environmentalists, however, feel the centre will not achieve anything unless the government pulls up its socks and strictly enforce the green norms.

“We have long been hearing about stringent rules and advanced technologies to control emission from sponge iron units. But nothing has been done and these units keep polluting the environment,” said a green activist.

“The state board’s role is limited to imposing fines, which are too paltry to be a deterrent,” he added.