PANAJI
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has revised the pollution index-based classification of hotels and resorts, reclassifying establishments into the Red, Orange and Green categories based on the number of rooms and adoption of cleaner technologies.
As per the revised guidelines issued by the CPCB, hotels and resorts with more than 300 rooms continue to fall under the Red category, with a Pollution Index (PI) score of 81.25.
However, hotels with over 300 rooms that use cleaner or gaseous fuel in kitchens have been downgraded to the Orange category, with the PI reduced to 79.4, subject to compliance with specified environmental safeguards.
Hotels with 101 to 300 rooms have been placed in the Orange category with a PI of 71.5, while hotels with 21 to 100 rooms also remain in the Orange category with a PI of 73.8. The biggest change is for 21 to 100-room hotels using cleaner or gaseous fuel, which have been classified under the Green category, with their Pollution Index reduced to 50.5. The CPCB has stipulated that hotels seeking the lower classification must use CPCB-compliant or 100 per cent gas-based generator sets, electricity -- or gas-based boilers, install oil and grease traps at kitchen outlets, and ensure proper treatment of wastewater through standalone sewage treatment plants (STPs) or other approved sewage management systems, depending on the size of the establishment.
The Board has directed all the State Pollution Control Boards to adopt and implement the revised classification immediately.
