Environment ministry, industry forum to advice firms on green laws

NEW DELHI - The environment ministry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will set up a facilitation centre to advice small and medium enterprises (SME) on environmental rules and regulation, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said Monday.

The environment ministry and FICCI will establish a compliance facilitation centre which will be a advisory service to the industries particularly for SME on compliance with the environmental rules, regulation, laws and standards,” he told mediapersons after a closed-door interaction with FICCI officials.

He said the centres may have a 50-50 partnership mode, similar to the one FICCI had with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

He also said that next open house will focus exclusively on the environmental concerns of SMEs.

Besides this, the other important discussions related to plastic waste management rules that the environment ministry is in the process of notifying, Ramesh said.

He stated the plastic management rules had two objectives - firstly, minimising the environmental hazards caused by the large-scale disposal of plastic waste, and secondly, ensuring the labour-intensive sector is not strangled.

“The objective of the plastic waste management rules is not just to manage the environmental hazard posed by plastic disposal but also to ensure that we don’t kill the plastic industry,” he said.

He also said he was not in favour of a blanket ban on plastic all over the country.

He cited examples like Tirupathi (Andhra Pradesh) and Himachal Pradesh as being plastic free.

I don’t think India can afford to take the position of a blanket ban on plastics all over the country,” he added.