CM Launches ‘Star Rating’ System To Reduce Industrial Pollution

Bhubaneswar: To clean up the air, the Odisha Government on Monday launched a ‘Star Rating’ system for industries.

This first-of-its-kind transparency initiative in the state will categorise industries from 1 star to 5 stars, being the least compliant and the most compliant to the pollution standards set by the regulator respectively.

Along with informing residents and industries, the programme aims to strengthen the efforts of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) to reduce pollution.

“We are committed to serving our citizens better and I am very optimistic about this programme that aims to cut down pollution. The ‘Star Rating’ programme will help the   public to find out whether industries in their vicinity are fair in their environmental  compliance and empower them to strengthen regulations through public participation,”   said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

He unveiled a new website, www.ospcb.info,  where citizens can access the  information.

The Chief Minister appreciated the efforts of OSPCB, quoting this initiative as an excellent example of three Ts i.e. Technology, Transparency and Teamwork.

“The pollution board has been collecting data through a Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) on industrial air pollution emissions. It has been an exciting journey  working with researchers from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India) in distilling this data into star ratings and using it for public disclosure,” said OSPCB Chairman R Balakrishnan.

“The Odisha Star Rating programme is a pioneering initiative that will help citizens identify the sources of pollution in their neighbourhood and cities and empower them   to help ensure that industries comply with existing Indian laws,” said Michael  Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Professor in Economics and Director of EPIC and the  Tata Centre for Development at Chicago (TCD).

“By incorporating real-time information on emissions, this programme marks the Odisha government as a global  leader in pollution regulation. Further, this type of partnership between governments and university researchers is at the vanguard of environmental enforcement  by marrying frontier research on what works with the political realities of what is feasible,” he added.

While  the  Maharashtra    Pollution   Control   Board  worked   with   researchers   from EPIC-India and others  to launch  a similar  programme  last year,  the  Odisha  initiative is the first  in India to utilise  continuously   monitored   emissions  data  captured   in real time from  major  industrial   plants.

Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree  Routray, Industries Minister Anant Das, Chief  Secretary Aditya  Prasad Padhi,  Development Commissioner-cum-Chairman  R Balakrishnan and ACS Forest and Environment Suresh Mahapatra were present, along with delegates from University of Chicago (EPIC India) and representatives from  20 industries  of Odisha were also present.