Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change chaired a review meeting in New Delhi on October 10, 2025, with senior officials from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and all State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs). The meeting assessed the progress and challenges in implementing key environmental regulations across the country.
Call for Uniform Water Act Adoption
The Minister highlighted the necessity of adopting the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, by all States to ensure uniform enforcement and pollution control standards. He requested 13 States—Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh—to adopt the Act by their respective State legislatures during the forthcoming Winter Session.
The Minister emphasized that this adoption is vital for enabling the applicability of uniform consent guidelines and the categorization of industries for effective pollution control.
Strengthening Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
The Minister stressed the critical role of circular economy principles in reducing the burden on resources. He urged SPCBs to effectively implement all Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, which cover:
- Plastic packaging
- E-waste
- Battery waste
- Waste tyres
- Used oil
- End-of-life vehicles
- Construction and demolition waste
- Scrap of non-ferrous metals
SPCBs were instructed to strengthen the audit mechanism under EPR frameworks to facilitate the exchange of EPR certificates between producers and recyclers. Further enhancing accountability, the Minister instructed the CPCB to rate SPCBs based on their overall performance in implementing environmental regulations, including EPR.
Mandates for Industrial and Waste Management
The Minister also called for the robust, on-ground implementation of various other waste management regulations, including those for:
- Solid waste
- Bio-medical waste
- Ash from thermal power plants
- Plastic waste
- Hazardous waste
He underscored the importance of Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) in red category and the 17 highly polluting industrial sectors. Effective monitoring of these systems by SPCBs is necessary to ensure that industrial pollution remains within stipulated norms.
The Ministry reiterated its commitment to strengthening environmental governance through collaborative efforts, data-driven monitoring, and institutional capacity building.