A new industrial project in Odisha may have land identified, machinery quotations finalised and financing under discussion, but starting construction or equipment installation before checking pollution-control approvals can create unnecessary regulatory problems.
For applicable projects, what businesses commonly call a Pollution NOC in Odisha is the Consent to Establish (CTE) issued by the State Pollution Control Board, Odisha. OSPCB states that new developmental and industrial projects must obtain CTE under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
For a new factory, the correct approach is to review the proposed activity, pollution category, location, investment, production process and pollution-control system before the project moves into construction.
“Pollution NOC” is a commonly used business term for environmental permission from the Pollution Control Board.
At the establishment stage, the relevant approval is normally Consent to Establish.
CTE allows the Board to review a proposed project before it is established, including factors such as:
The approval is issued by the State Pollution Control Board, Odisha, and the current Government of Odisha process integrates CTE with the GO-SWIFT single-window portal.
The first step is determining the correct industrial category.
OSPCB classifies activities into:
The 2026 GO-SWIFT CTE manual states that CTE is mandatory for Red, Orange and Green category projects. White-category activities are exempt from regular CTE and require intimation to the Board.
A business should not select a category merely from its company name.
For example, two businesses both described as “engineering units” may have different categories because one performs only assembly while another undertakes surface treatment, chemical cleaning, painting, furnace operations or other pollution-generating processes.
The actual classification must therefore be checked against the proposed manufacturing activity.
A common source of confusion is assuming that Red, Orange and Green are the only categories relevant to a CTE application.
They are not.
OSPCB also classifies industrial projects into Category A, B or C for consent administration based on investment and pollution category.
| Project investment | Green | Orange | Red |
| Up to ₹5 crore | Category C | Category C | Category C |
| More than ₹5 crore and up to ₹50 crore | Category C | Category C | Category B |
| More than ₹50 crore | Category C | Category B | Category A |
This classification can affect:
For this reason, both pollution category and investment classification should be determined before filing.
CTE should be addressed at the pre-establishment stage.
The Government of Odisha’s current CTE manual describes it as a statutory clearance required before commencement of construction or installation activities for applicable projects.
A practical project sequence is:
Project concept → land and zoning review → pollution category assessment → DPR and environmental design → CTE → construction and installation → compliance with CTE conditions → CTO → commercial operation
Obtaining land first and investigating pollution consent later can be risky where the proposed activity has location restrictions, inadequate space for pollution-control infrastructure or incompatible land use.
The exact checklist depends on the industrial category and project type.
The 2026 GO-SWIFT manual identifies information such as:
Documents commonly required may include:
OSPCB’s formal CTE checklist additionally shows that higher-category projects may require more detailed documentation covering capital investment in pollution-control measures, land-use breakup, ETP, air-pollution-control systems, wastewater disposal, sensitive receptors and detailed plant layouts.
| Information | Usually prepared/provided by |
| Land ownership / lease documents | Project owner |
| Company documents | Company / authorised signatory |
| Manufacturing process | Technical / production team |
| Machinery capacity | Machinery supplier / project team |
| DPR | Project consultant / promoter |
| Water balance | Environmental / process consultant |
| Material balance | Process engineer |
| ETP / STP concept | Environmental engineer |
| Air pollution-control system | Environmental / equipment specialist |
| Site layout | Architect / engineer |
| KML / geo-location data | Project team / consultant |
| Consent application | Applicant with environmental consultant support |
A strong application is created by making these documents consistent with one another.
The Government of Odisha currently provides the CTE process through GO-SWIFT.
Identify:
Check whether the site is suitable for the proposed industry and whether local-authority, industrial-estate, land-use or Environmental Clearance requirements affect the project.
OSPCB’s Category B checklist, for example, includes local-authority NOC requirements subject to stated exceptions such as projects in approved industrial estates and certain EC-linked projects.
The application should consistently describe:
An industrial user can register on the portal and access integrated OSPCB services.
The portal provides CTE applications under:
The correct service depends on applicability.
The form captures industry details, coordinates, category, investment, products, raw materials, water, wastewater, stacks, fuels, emissions and pollution-control devices.
The appropriate DPR, land records, drawings, KML and environmental information must be uploaded.
The current GO-SWIFT manual states that the fee varies according to the relevant category and capital investment, and the portal provides a fee-calculation mechanism.
Accordingly, a single standard “Pollution NOC fee” should not be quoted for every Odisha project.
The application is routed to the relevant OSPCB office based on category and investment.
Review may include:
After approval, the applicant can obtain the digitally signed Consent Order through the portal.
OSPCB’s published online workflow states that the process should be completed within 30 days.
This should be treated as a regulatory processing target for a properly filed case, not as an unconditional approval guarantee.
Actual elapsed time can be affected by:
The 2026 GO-SWIFT manual also states that clarification may be issued during scrutiny and applicants must respond within the stipulated period.
There is no responsible way to quote one fixed government fee for every industrial project.
The amount depends on factors including:
GO-SWIFT calculates the applicable amount from application inputs and provides online payment facilities.
Consulting or professional charges should always be shown separately from the statutory government fee.
Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate serve different stages of a project.
CTE assesses the proposed project before establishment.
It considers the planned:
CTO applies when the plant has been established and is preparing to operate.
OSPCB states that running units and applicable units before starting operation must obtain Consent to Operate. CTO must subsequently be renewed in accordance with the applicable framework.
Therefore:
CTE approval does not by itself authorise permanent commercial production.
Depending on the industry, the environmental consent may interact with other clearances.
A practical sequence can be:
Land / Industrial Location
↓
Environmental Clearance, if applicable
↓
Consent to Establish
↓
Factory layout and construction
↓
Machinery + ETP/APCD installation
↓
Factory / Fire / utility permissions where applicable
↓
Consent to Operate
↓
Waste-specific authorisation or CPCB/SPCB registration where applicable
↓
Commercial operation and ongoing compliance
Odisha’s official investor approval listing also places Consent to Establish in the pre-establishment stage and Consent to Operate in the pre-operation stage.
Before filing for Pollution NOC in Odisha, a new industrial unit should be able to answer the following.
If several of these answers are unclear, the application may not yet be filing-ready.
Classification should be based on the actual process rather than a generic business description.
The two classification systems serve different purposes.
For applicable new industrial projects, CTE is a pre-establishment approval.
The 2026 GO-SWIFT manual specifically identifies the site KML file as a required component of the CTE filing process.
A DPR that lists machinery without explaining water use, emissions, wastewater and waste disposal may result in technical questions.
Water intake, process consumption, wastewater, treatment and reuse figures should reconcile.
ETP, STP, dust control, stacks, scrubbers or other control systems should reflect the actual process.
Product quantities, raw materials, machinery capacity, utility requirements and project investment should describe one consistent project.
Where EC is applicable, the CTE strategy must be coordinated with the environmental-clearance process rather than treated independently.
A competent environmental consultant should do more than upload documents.
Support may include:
Green Permits’ role is to help align the proposed factory, technical documents and pollution-control approvals—not to guarantee an authority’s decision.
Green Permits Consulting assists manufacturers, MSMEs, recyclers and industrial project promoters with end-to-end environmental approval planning.
The engagement can begin before land or machinery investment with an application-readiness and project-compliance review.
Support can cover:
If you are planning a new factory or industrial unit in Odisha, review CTE applicability, project category, land, process, water balance and pollution-control design before beginning construction.
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