UP govt to revamp Pollution Control Board, offices in all districts: CM

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to revamp the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), aiming to make it more effective and well equipped to address the ongoing pollution levels and poor air quality in the state. The CM conducted a review meeting on Wednesday regarding the function of UPPCB. He said it was established in 1995, and in the current situation, the board’s responsibility has increased significantly.

A complete reform is essential to make it more conducive. He emphasized that there should be UPPCB offices in every district and for regional offices to match the state’s 18 administrative divisions. More than one regional office is expected to be established to cope with the extra work. Yogi urged the setting up of special departments within the board to handle different kinds of solid, liquid, hazardous, electronic, and biomedical waste.

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He went on to say that for curbing pollution, it is time to concentrate on research and development works, creating environmental awareness, and using IT and artificial intelligence are necessary. “Such steps will improve the board’s performance in protecting the environment with more effect,” the chief minister said.

During the meeting another point was raised: the need to accelerate the process of issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for industries. At present, this process takes at least 120 days. A new timeline has been set up—40 days for red category industries. 25 and 10 days for the orange and green categories, respectively.

At the end, CM Yogi said that the hiring of talented staff will take place shortly, suggesting extraordinary youth from reputed institutions such as IITs will be recruited on handsome salary packages. This initiative is expected to make the UPPCB a potent force in tackling pollution issues effectively all over the state.