The Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) on August 12, 2025 issued a circular implementing the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) directions under Section 18(1)(b) of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 for harmonizing industrial categorization. This follows CPCB’s 2025 instructions withdrawing the earlier 2016 guidelines and introducing a revised framework for classification under Red, Orange, Green, White, and Blue categories.
Pursuant to these directions, TSPCB constituted a State-Level Categorization Committee of technical experts to review and evaluate industrial processes not listed in the CPCB categories and to assign categories based on a Pollution Index Score. After detailed deliberations, the Committee recommended the inclusion of several additional sub-categories of industries under the White Category (least polluting), covering specific cotton, woolen, silk, synthetic hosiery, leather, engineering, and fabrication activities, all limited to dry processes without dyeing, washing, heat treatment, or metal surface finishing.
These additions aim to streamline pollution control, simplify compliance, and provide clarity for industries operating in low-pollution sectors. All field officers are directed to implement these new White Category inclusions as per CPCB methodology with immediate effect.
[Notification No. 94/TSPCB/Categorization/HO/2025]
