The Centre on Wednesday amended key guidelines under the laws governing air and water pollution, allowing industrial units to continue operating on the basis of a one-time approval unless it is withdrawn for violations.

According to an official statement, the Uniform Consent Guidelines notified under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 have been revised to streamline the consent mechanism for industries across states and Union territories.

A central change relates to the validity of the Consent to Operate (CTO).

“Under the amended guidelines, CTO, once granted, will remain valid until it is cancelled,” the statement said, adding that environmental compliance will continue to be enforced through periodic inspections.

The consent can be withdrawn in case of violations.

“This removes the need for repeated renewals, reduces paperwork, compliance burden on industries and ensures continuity of industrial operations. Further, the processing time for grant of consent to Red Category industries has been reduced from 120 days to 90 days,” the statement said.

The move, it added, also addresses uncertainty and operational disruption caused by delays in CTO renewals. Another change introduced is the provision for Consolidated Consent and Authorisation.

State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) can now process a single application and issue integrated approvals covering consents under the Air and Water Acts along with authorisations under multiple Waste Management Rules.

The statement said integrated consents reduce multiple applications, shorten approval timelines, and retain provisions for monitoring, compliance and cancellation.

“The amendments aim to ensure faster, clearer and more efficient approval processes, while maintaining environmental safeguards, supporting the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in processing consent applications and conducting inspections,” it said.

The guidelines, first issued last year, provide a uniform framework for granting, refusing or cancelling Consent to Establish (CTE) and CTO.

To speed up approvals, the revised framework allows registered environmental auditors certified under the Environment Audit Rules, 2025 to conduct site visits and verify compliance, in addition to inspections carried out by SPCB officials.

The government said this would strengthen verification while allowing boards to focus on high-risk units and enforcement.

Special provisions have also been introduced for micro and small enterprises operating in notified industrial estates or areas.

For such units, the CTE will be deemed granted upon submission of a self-certified application, as the land has already undergone environmental assessment.

The amendments also replace fixed minimum-distance siting norms with site-specific environmental assessment.

Competent authorities will be able to prescribe safeguards based on local conditions, including proximity to water bodies, habitations, monuments and ecologically sensitive zones.

States and Union territories have also been given the option to prescribe a one-time CTO fee for periods ranging from five to 25 years, ending repeated fee collection and administrative processing.

To address inconsistencies in fee assessment, a uniform definition of “capital investment” has been introduced in Schedule II.

The safeguards for refusal or cancellation of consent remain unchanged in cases involving non-compliance with standards, violation of consent conditions, environmental damage or operation in prohibited locations.

The government said the revised framework seeks to balance ease of doing business with environmental protection through continuous monitoring, trust-based governance and a uniform national consent mechanism.