Green cover requirement for industrial estates

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Ecology & Environment

Why in news?

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has reduced the mandatory green cover norms for industrial projects from 33% to 10%.

Feature	Green Cover	Green Belt
Definition	The extent of land covered by any kind of vegetation (trees, parks, gardens, agricultural land, forests, etc.).	A designated land-use zone around or near urban/industrial areas where development is strictly controlled or prohibited by law.
Purpose	To provide general environmental benefits such as shade, cooling, biodiversity conservation, and soil moisture retention across a wide area.	To prevent urban sprawl, preserve natural habitats and farmland, create a buffer zone against pollution, and provide access to countryside for recreation.
Scope	Can refer to any scale, from a small park to global forest area.	Typically refers to a strategically planned, contiguous area or a linear corridor (greenway) with a defined border.

Revised Greencover Norm –
- A minimum of 10% of an industrial estate’s area must be designated as common green area with dense plantation of 2,500 trees per hectare, to be developed by the estate owner.
- Applicable for industrial estates, parks, complexes, Export Processing Zones, Special Economic Zones, biotech parks and leather complexes.
- This can be at one location or spread across multiple sites within the premises, provided it is clearly demarcated.
- Introduced differentiated norms based on industries pollution potential.

Categories of industries

The MoEFCC has developed the categorization of industrial sectors based on the Pollution Index.
- Red Category – Score of 60 and above (highest pollution potential).
- Orange Category – Score of 41 to 59 (moderately polluting).
- Green Category – Score of 21 to 40 (marginally polluting).
- White Category – Score including and up to 20 (practically non-polluting).

Requirement for units within industrial estates
- Red category – Must maintain 15% green belt within their own premises.
- Orange category – Need 10%.
- Green & white category – No mandatory requirement, making green cover optional for them.
For standalone industrial units outside estates –
- Red category – Must maintain 25% green belt (predominantly air-polluting sectors), while other red category units need 20%.
- Orange category – Range from 15-20%, depending on air pollution scores,
- Green category – Need 10% (with high air pollution potential)
- White category – No mandatory requirement.

References

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Legal Metrology (Government Approved Test Centre) Rules, 2025

Adaptation Gap Report, 2025

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