States » EastPosted at: Oct 5 2026 9:09PM


Odisha CS stresses balance between environmental protection, industrial growth

Bhubaneswar, Oct 5 (UNI) Emphasising ease of doing business, Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg on Monday directed that environmental approval and compliance processes be made simpler, transparent, time-bound, predictable and technology-based to create a more investment-friendly environment while ensuring that industries adhere to prescribed environmental standards.
She also stressed the need to balance environmental protection with industrial development while making environmental clearances and compliance procedures simpler, transparent, predictable and technology-driven to facilitate new investments in the state.
Garg, as chairperson of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) during a visit to the Board office here, called for a data-driven and technology-enabled environmental management system to strengthen pollution monitoring, waste management and regulatory mechanisms.
With rapid growth in steel, aluminium, power, mining, petrochemicals and other industrial sectors in Odisha, the Chief Secretary emphasised that industrial development must go hand in hand with environmental protection.
She said the role of the Pollution Control Board should not be confined to granting approvals and checking compliance but should evolve into a more transparent and technology-driven system focused on environmental sustainability and industrial growth.
Highlighting the importance of the circular economy, the Chief Secretary said waste should not merely be treated as material to be dumped or disposed of but should be converted into an economic resource through reuse, recycling, resource recovery and value-added production.
She called for scientific and systematic management of municipal, industrial, plastic, e-waste, construction and demolition and hazardous waste, with greater focus on segregation, collection, processing, recycling and resource recovery.
Garg also stressed the need to promote the 'Waste to Wealth' and 'Waste to Economy' approaches by encouraging new technologies, industries and business models that could use waste generated in one sector as raw material or a useful resource in another.
Such an approach, she said, could not only reduce waste but also create opportunities for new industries, employment and revenue generation.
The meeting discussed strengthening online monitoring, automated data collection, digital monitoring of industrial compliance and data-based decision-making to make pollution control and environmental surveillance more efficient and transparent.
Emphasis was laid on promoting the reuse and recycling of industrial by-products such as fly ash, slag, red mud and phosphogypsum. Plans were discussed to increase the use of such industrial by-products in construction, highways and other infrastructure projects as part of the state's transition towards a circular economy.
The meeting stressed making real-time information on air and water quality more accessible to the public and using social media to spread environmental protection messages among schools, colleges and the general public.
Garg called for further strengthening the OSPCB's role in ensuring a balance between environmental protection, responsible industrialisation and sustainable development, with the objective of positioning Odisha as a clean, green and sustainable state.
UNI DP
Tags: #Odisha CS stresses balance between environmental protection# industrial growth
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