The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has withdrawn its notification against the Interim Policy of Rule 9 of the Hazardous and Other Waste Management Rules 2016, which allowed industries in the state to reuse hazardous waste, according to a statement issued Friday by an officer of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI).
The withdrawal of the notification dated April 19 comes following GCCI’s representation to Union Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) Bhupender Yadav and Minister of State for Industries and Environment & Forest Jagdish Vishvakarma in this regard.
Yadav, who is also incharge of Gujarat BJP, was in Gandhinagar for the last two days.
Senior Vice-President of GCCI Pathik Patwari in the statement said, “We are happy to share that due to prompt and timely representation by GCCI with Bhupendra Yadav and Jagdish Vishvakarma…CPCB has withdrawn its notification against Rule 9.”
According to Patwari, under the Interim Policy of Rule 9, Gujarat’s industries were able to reuse hazardous waste because one industry’s waste is another industry’s raw material. However, the withdrawal of Rule 9 provisions prevented the industry from reusing hazardous waste and reduced its production.
They detailed the issue to Yadav and Panchal, stating that the drastic change in law will not only be discouraging for Gujarat’s industries, but will also be detrimental to industrial production and growth across the country.