Ahmedabad, 5 April 2012

The Union Ministry of Enviornment and Forests has extended the moratorium on 18 critically polluted industrial clusters across India, including at Ankleshwar, Ahmedabad and Vatva, until further order. This means any application for new unit or expansion of existing industrial units inside these clusters will not be considered by the ministry and the department working under the ministry. The moratorium was first imposed in January 2010, and was extended later.

The notification issued by the central ministry in this regard reads: “In the 18 identified critically polluted industrial clusters/areas, the moratorium was extended upto 31st March, 2012. The matter has been considered further. The Central Pollution Control Board has been requested to provide an update on the progress of implementation of action plans, cluster by cluster, in various industrial clusters and their expected impact in terms of the improvement of the relevant pollution indicators. It has been decided that the moratorium would continue in the remaining 18 industrial clusters till the matter is reviewed in the light of update to be provided by Central Pollution Control Board regarding the implementation of action plans. Accordingly, the moratorium in the 18 industrial clusters is extended till further orders.”