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Previous Details:
It is submitted that the industry is a large scale orange category induction furnace. As per record, the industry was earlier granted Consent to Operate under the Water Act, 1974 vide no. CTOW/Renewal/FGS/2025/28845071 dated 01.07.2025 valid upto 30.09.2027 and under the Air Act, 1981 vide no. CTOA/Renewal/FGS/2025/28845066 dated 01.07.2025 valid upto 31.03.2026 for manufacturing of Billets (With CCM Plant) Or Round, Square, Hexa and Flats etc. (with rolling mill without reverberatory furnace) @ 52500 TPA or @ 150 MT/Day by using MS Scrap & Ferro Alloys @ 56000 TPA or @ 160 MT/Day as raw material under the old category i.e. 2063-Steel and steel products using various furnaces like blast furnace /open hearth furnace/induction furnace/arc furnace/submerged arc furnace /basic oxygen furnace /hot rolling reheated furnace.
Present Application:
Now, the industry has applied for obtaining renewal of Consent to Operate under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 for the same production capacity i.e. manufacturing of Billets (With CCM Plant) Or Round, Square, Hexa and Flats etc. (with rolling mill without reverberatory furnace) @ 52500 TPA or @ 150 MT/Day by using MS Scrap & Ferro Alloys @ 56000 TPA or @ 160 MT/Day as raw material under the category no. 104.2 Induction furnace/arc furnace, as per latest categorization of CPCB.
CA certificate:-
Earlier, in the previous granted application, the industry had submitted its value of total fixed assets amounting to Rs. 2050.03 lacs (wherein the value of P&M @ 1677.58 lacs, Land @ 39.63 lacs and Building @ 249.68 lacs) as per CA certificate dated 26.05.2025.
Now, the industry has submitted its value of total fixed assets amounting to Rs. 2103.14 lacs (wherein the value of P&M @ 1726.05 lacs, Land @ 39.63 lacs and Building @ 249.68 lacs) as per CA certificate dated 05.03.2026.
Accordingly, the industry has submitted the details w.r.t increase in the total fixed assets and same is produced below:-
Moreover, the industry has also deposited NOC regularization fee amounting to Rs. 3600/- vide R. No. 229876968 dated 28.03.2026 along with Consent fee, against the increase in the value of total fixed assets of Rs. 53.11 lacs, which is adequate.
Fee Details:
The industry has not deposited any new consent fee in this application.
As per record of this office, the fee deposited in the previous granted consent to operate under the Air Act, 1981 was adequate upto 30.09.2032. As the fee slab is same, the previous deposited fee is still valid upto 30.09.2032 under the Air Act, 1981.
EIA notification dated 14/09/2006:
The industry is covered under the EIA notification dated 14/09/2006 and had obtained Environmental Clearance vide no. EC24B008PB153160 dated 04/01/2024 as it has installed one induction furnace with a capacity of 10 TPH and one rolling mill for manufacturing Billets/rounds/squares/hexagons/flats @ 52,500 TPA. However, as per notification dated 07.06.2024, the industry is exempt from obtaining Environmental Clearance as the production of melting product is less than 60,000 MTA.
The schedule of Factories Act, 1948:
The industry is covered under the first schedule of Factories Act, 1948 but the industry is not required to obtain Site Clearance from Site Appraisal Committee as the site of the industry falls under industrial land use zone as per notified Master Plan, Mandi Gobindgarh.
Secondary Emission System:
The industry has submitted copy of its email and undertaking regarding for proposal of installation of secondary emissions, as per which, the industry has sent a mail to PSCST, Chandigarh to get the canopy design for the secondary emission.
It is pertinent to mention that a meeting was held on 09.04.2026 under the chairmanship of the Worthy Chairperson, Punjab Pollution Control Board, with the Association of Mandi Gobindgarh regarding the installation of a secondary emission control system. During the meeting, it was decided that the industries shall adopt any of the aforementioned technologies or install a secondary emission control system as adopted by PSCST, Chandigarh.
Further, in the said meeting, the matter regarding the issue of short terms consent granted to the industry was also brought to the knowledge of the Worthy Chairperson of the Board, as the representative of the industries informed the Chair that are being forced to apply again & again for obtaining renewal of CTO’s due to very short-term consents being granted by the Board.
Accordingly, the Chair has directed the officers of the Board to resolve this issue on priority basis.
Subsequently, the industry has submitted an undertaking that we have sent a feasibility report containing details of the secondary emission control system to PSCST for approval of the same. Once they approve our feasibility, we will install the same at the earliest as per our feasibility report. Further, the industry is bound to install Secondary Emission Control System by 30.09.2026.
Therefore, it is requested that we be granted renewal of Consent to Operate under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, up to the adequacy of the fee deposited by us.
Proceedings:-
Earlier, the industry was issued show cause notice for cancellation of Consent to operate granted under the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 with an opportunity of personal hearing held before the Chief Environmental Engineer (B) on 06.12.2023, wherein, it was decided as under:-
1. To improve the efficiency of bag house of the existing APCD, the industry shall up-grade its bag filters in the bag house in the existing APCD as per the specifications given below within one month and shall get it verified/certified from PSCST, Chandigarh.
Filter medium/Scrim Three polyester batt layer needle felt (Profiled microfibres microfibers) 2 layers of high strength woven scrim from filament textured yarns with an inter-batt layer Premium Fibre Blend/Scrim:
+ PTFE Treatment: full bah PTFE finish
Thickness Range from 2mm to 2.5mm Range from 2mm to 2.5mm
Basis weight 650 grams/square meter 650 grams/square meter
Finish Oil & water repellant Oil & water repellant
Temperature resistance 80-100 oC/ peak 150 oC 80-100 oC/ peak 150 oC
2. The industry shall submit the proposal regarding control of Secondary Emissions generated from the process within one month after consultation with the PSCST, Chandigarh.
3. The industry shall submit a bank guarantee amounting to Rs. 2.0 lakh within 7 days as an assurance to comply with the Environmental Laws and Environmental Engineer, Regional Office, Fatehgarh Sahib shall encash 50% of the above said bank guarantee.
4. The industry shall use good quality raw material free from dust and oil.
5. The industry shall develop the adequate green area all around the boundary wall and shall stabilize all of its movement area within the premises of the industry as well as approach around the industry, so as to minimize the dust emissions within one month.
Further, the compliance to the observations raised by the team of officers of the Board during their visit on 08.08.2024 was already reported on 13.10.2024 through OCMMS, prior to the issuance of the Consent to Operate (CTO). This was done following the visit by the officer from the Regional Office, Fatehgarh Sahib, on 10.10.2024.
Visit:
To check the compliance of the personal hearing decisions and to verify the contents of the application, the industry was visited by the Er. Dharamvir Singh, AEE on 13.04.2026. During the visit, it was observed as under:
1. The industry was in operation during the visit.
2. The industry has engaging in the manufacturing of Billets (With CCM Plant) Or Round, Square, Hexa and Flats etc. (with rolling mill without reverberatory furnace) @ 150 MTD by using MS Scrap & Ferro Alloys @ 160 MTD. In compliance with the decision no. 4 of the personal hearing, the industry is now using good quality raw material free from dust and oil.
3. In compliance with the decision no. 1 of the personal hearing, the industry has installed induction furnace of capacity 10 TPH and the industry has upgraded its bag filter house as APCD as per drawing as design of PSCST Chandigarh. The PSCST Chandigarh has issued completion certificate vide no. PSCST/TFD/65 dated 07/06/2024.
4. In compliance with the decision no. 1 of the personal hearing, the industry has submitted an undertaking regarding proposal of installation of secondary emission control system which is to be approved by PSCST, Chandigarh and will install the same after approved by PSCST, Chandigarh.
5. The industry has installed energy meter on its APCD and its reading was 12379 kWh.
6. The industry has installed 04 ambient air quality monitor and online stack emission monitoring system (OCEMS).
7. The industry is maintaining record of SOPs framed for operation and maintenance of APCDs.
8. The industry has installed 2 no. D.G set of capacity 125 KVA & 320 KVA, which are equipped with canopy and stack of adequate height.
9. The industry has provided cooling tower for cooling of water which comes into contact with the furnace & CCM. The industry has made arrangement to recycle entire cooling water.
10. The industry has installed water meter on its submersible pump and its reading were 52485.45 & 13445.38 Kl.
11. In compliance with the decision no. 5 of the personal hearing, the industry has developed adequate plantation area in its premises for utilization of treated domestic effluent and has also stabilized all of its movement area within the premises of the industry.
Furthermore, as per the record, the stack emission sampling of the industry was carried out by the Board’s laboratory on 15.01.2025 and as per the results, the concentration of SPM was found to be 45 mg/Nm3, which is within the prescribed limits for such type of units.
Moreover, the industry has submitted Bank Guarantee No. 6552IPEBG240002 dated 14.02.2024, valid up to 15.02.2025, amounting to Rs. 1,00,000, as an assurance of compliance with environmental laws at the Regional Office, Fatehgarh Sahib.
Further, it is pertinent to mention here that as per Board’s Office Memorandum no. SEE(HQ-2)/F.no 441/2025/428 dated 23.09.2025, wherein, it has been mentioned as under:-
“The Regional Offices of the Board shall not extend the bank guarantee of the industries at own level and shall send the report with recommendations to the Competent Authority in the matter (for deciding the respective cases).”
Accordingly, the industry was imposed bank guarantee due to in-adequate APCD and not approved by the PSCST, Chandigarh. The industry was also using poor quality raw material, in-adequate plantation area and un-stabilized movements.
Now, the industry is complying with all the decisions of personal hearing and SOPs framed for operation and maintenance of APCDs.
Recommendations:
In view of the facts mentioned above, if approved, it is recommended that:-
1. Consent to operate under the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 may be granted upto 30.09.2026 for manufacturing of Billets (With CCM Plant) Or Round, Square, Hexa and Flats etc. (with rolling mill without reverberatory furnace) @ 52500 TPA or @ 150 MT/Day by using MS Scrap & Ferro Alloys @ 56000 TPA or @ 160 MT/Day as raw material with suitable conditions and additional conditions that:
i. The industry shall be bound to install secondary emission control system within the stipulated time period given by the Board.
ii. The industry will not generate and discharge any trade effluent without obtaining prior written permission of the Board.
iii. The industry shall provide thick plantation of spreading crown varieties of evergreen trees all along the boundary wall.
iv. The industry will get its building plans approved from competent authorities if there is further change in the building plan.
v. The industry shall not throw burn or burry any solid wastes in open, outside premises or in drain / water bodies.
2. The Bank Guarantee may be returned to the industry, as the industry was found complying with the decisions of the personal hearing, SOPs framed for operation and maintenance of APCD as well as provisions of the Water Act, 1974 & the Air Act, 1981.
Scale & Category – Large (Orange)
Competency- CEE (B)
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