In a significant reform aimed at accelerating industrial growth and simplifying regulatory procedures, the Himachal government has introduced a one-time consent certificate from Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB) for industries with validity of up to 25 years.
The step has been taken to facilitate industries operating in Himachal, and to strengthen the State’s vision of ‘Speed of Doing Business’. With this initiative, Himachal has become the first state in the country to introduce a one-time consent certificate system for industries, marking a significant milestone in regulatory reforms.
All registered industries in Himachal would now be issued a one-time consent certificate by the HPSPCB.
Nearly 12,500 registered industries in Himachal, which had to earlier obtain repeated consent renewals from the Board, would get a major relief. The validity of the one-time consent certificate will range from five to 25 years, depending upon the category of the industry.
Chief Minister (CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said earlier, industries often faced disruption in operations due to procedural shortcomings, including disconnection of electricity in certain cases.
“Such issues adversely affected industrial productivity, as such the new policy would provide substantial relief to industrial units and ensure smoother operations.
He further stated that the state government was continuously introducing progressive reforms to make the business environment more transparent, efficient and investor-friendly.
“The process for granting consent certificates has been simplified by categorising industries according to their operational capacity and pollution potential. A definite timeline has been prescribed for issuing consent certificates, and accountability of the concerned officers has been fixed in case of any undue delay,” he said.
Sukhu said that the government was committed to promoting industrial development and attracting greater investment to Himachal through policy simplification and administrative reforms.
He added that the government was bringing fundamental improvements to the online approval system to eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and ensure seamless functioning of industries.
