EIA Siting Criteria: Selecting Sustainable Locations for Industrial Estates

Where an industrial estate is built matters just as much as what is built inside it. A poorly chosen location can lead to irreversible environmental damage, legal complications, and costly shutdowns. That is exactly why Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) siting criteria exist – to ensure that industrial development happens at the right place, with the least possible harm to ecosystems and communities. In India, where industrialisation has been a key driver of economic growth since independence, the process of selecting appropriate sites for industrial estates has evolved into a structured, science-backed system governed by regulations, environmental tools, and sustainability principles.

EIA and industrial estates: why location decisions matter 🔗

An Environmental Impact Assessment is a systematic process that evaluates the potential environmental consequences of a proposed project before it receives approval. For industrial estates – which cluster multiple manufacturing units, processing facilities, and associated infrastructure in a defined area – the stakes are especially high. The EIA process for industrial estates involves assessing potential impacts on air quality, water quality, soil quality, biodiversity, and human health, along with identifying risks related to pollutant release and waste disposal.

The siting of industries is a critical step in the development of any industrial project, as it significantly impacts the environmental, social, and economic aspects of the project. A site chosen without environmental consideration may initially seem cost-effective but can create long-term liabilities in the form of pollution penalties, legal action, and community opposition.

India’s industrial estate programme: a brief history 🔗

India began developing industrial estates in the 1950s as part of its planned economic development strategy. The goal was to provide small and medium enterprises with shared infrastructure such as roads, power supply, water, and waste management facilities. Over the decades, the programme expanded significantly. In continuation of early Zoning Atlas studies, industrial estate planning was taken up at a micro level to identify environmentally suitable and acceptable sites, along with the infrastructure requirements for waste disposal systems. Today, industrial estates, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), biotech parks, and export processing zones all fall under the purview of India’s EIA Notification 2006, which mandates environmental clearance before operations can begin.

If an industrial estate with a pre-defined set of activities obtains prior environmental clearance, individual industries within such estates are not required to take separate environmental clearance, as long as the terms and conditions of the estate-level clearance are followed. This makes the initial siting decision even more consequential – it sets the environmental baseline for every unit that will eventually operate there.

The role of the Zoning Atlas in site selection 🔗

One of India’s most significant contributions to environmentally informed industrial siting is the Zoning Atlas for Siting of Industries, a programme developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in collaboration with State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), with financial support from the World Bank.

What is the Zoning Atlas? 🔗

The Zoning Atlas classifies the environment in a district and presents the pollution-receiving potentials of various sites and zones, suggesting possible alternate sites for industry through easy-to-read maps. It considers only environmental aspects; for siting industries, both economic factors (such as raw material availability, market access, water supply, electricity, and labour) and environmental factors must be considered together.

The underlying logic is straightforward: while industries are best placed to judge which locations suit them economically, the Zoning Atlas provides the environmental dimension that entrepreneurs may otherwise overlook.

How is the Zoning Atlas prepared? 🔗

The atlas is prepared using GIS applications through overlaying thematic maps and eliminating areas unsuitable for industrial activity due to environmental sensitivity. The methodology involves identifying district characteristics, mapping sensitive zones that are unsuitable due to legal restrictions, physical constraints, and social considerations, and then assessing the district’s pollution-receiving potential for air and water.

The preparation process broadly follows six steps:

Step 1: Preparing the base map of the district at a scale of 1:250,000. Step 2: Creating thematic maps covering land use, drainage, physiography, and land capability. Step 3: Identifying sensitive zones – areas unsuitable for industrial siting due to environmental guidelines, legal restrictions, or social and physical constraints. Step 4: Developing theme maps related to air pollution sensitivity and groundwater pollution sensitivity. Step 5: Overlaying theme maps to prepare pollution sensitivity maps and identifying alternative sites based on site sensitivity to air and water pollution. Step 6: Listing categories of industry suitable for each identified site and recommending siting guidelines.

Objectives of the Zoning Atlas 🔗

The objectives of the Zoning Atlas are to zone and classify the environment in a district, to identify locations for siting of industries, and to identify industries suitable to the identified sites. This three-pronged approach ensures that the right type of industry ends up at the right type of location – a polluting industry is not placed near a drinking water source, and a sensitive wetland is not subjected to heavy emissions.

The programme on Zoning Atlas for siting of industries was implemented under the Environment Management Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project of the World Bank, covering preparation of district-level atlases across multiple states. As of the later phases of the programme, atlases had been initiated for over 60 districts covering 18 states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.

Essential siting criteria for industrial estates 🔗

Selecting a site for an industrial estate involves evaluating a complex set of environmental, logistical, and regulatory parameters. Here are the key criteria that decision-makers must consider.

Environmental sensitivity of the location 🔗

This is the most critical factor. According to the EIA Notification 2006, projects located within specified distances of protected areas notified under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, require clearance at the central level irrespective of their size. Sites must maintain safe distances from national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, and other ecologically fragile zones.

State Pollution Control Boards have also established specific distance norms. For instance, in Karnataka, no new industry can be set up within 1.5 km from the embankment of major rivers such as Cauvery, Krishna, and Tungabhadra. If any water body serves as a drinking water source, additional buffer distances are mandated.

Air and water pollution potential 🔗

A proposed site’s capacity to absorb or disperse pollutants is a central consideration. The Zoning Atlas evaluates both air pollution sensitivity (based on existing air quality, meteorological conditions, and the presence of sensitive receptors like hospitals or residential areas) and water pollution sensitivity (based on surface water quality, groundwater depth, soil permeability, and proximity to water bodies). Sites with high existing pollution loads – identified through the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) – may face development moratoriums.

CPCB’s CEPI score is a tool to identify clusters where industrial development activities have been restricted due to their pollution levels. In 2010, the Ministry of Environment and Forests imposed a moratorium on environmental clearance for projects located in 43 critically polluted areas. This underscores how past siting failures directly affect future development opportunities.

Availability of resources and infrastructure 🔗

The availability of raw materials is an essential factor, as it affects the cost of production. Beyond raw materials, a site must also have adequate water supply for industrial processes, reliable power supply, proximity to transportation networks (roads, railways, ports), and access to skilled and semi-skilled labour.

Equally important is the availability of waste management infrastructure. Industrial estates require common effluent treatment plants (CETPs), hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs), and solid waste management systems. Without these, even a well-located estate can become a pollution hotspot.

Regulatory and legal requirements 🔗

In India, the siting of industries is regulated by the EIA Notification 2006, issued under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, which requires industries to undergo a comprehensive environmental assessment before commencing operations. In addition to the national-level regulations, State Pollution Control Boards enforce their own siting guidelines, and local zoning regulations from development authorities must be followed.

The environmental clearance process involves expert committee review of EIA reports, public hearing records, and compliance history before recommending approval or rejection. Post-clearance monitoring with half-yearly compliance reports is mandatory.

Social and community considerations 🔗

An industrial estate affects the communities living around it. The EIA process includes a mandatory public consultation phase where local residents can raise concerns about potential impacts on their health, livelihoods, and quality of life. Public hearings are conducted at or near the project site by the SPCB, and must be announced in at least one national and one vernacular daily newspaper. These hearings help ensure that the siting decision accounts for ground-level realities that maps and data might not fully capture.

Sustainable site management for industrial estates 🔗

Selecting the right site is only the first step. Long-term sustainability of an industrial estate depends on how it is managed after establishment. This is where the concept of eco-industrial parks (EIPs) becomes relevant.

What are eco-industrial parks? 🔗

An eco-industrial park is a dedicated area for industrial use at a suitable site that supports sustainability through the integration of social, economic, and environmental quality aspects into its siting, planning, management, and operations. Unlike traditional industrial estates that focus primarily on production efficiency, EIPs are designed to minimise resource consumption and waste generation through collaboration among tenant industries.

Industrial symbiosis and resource sharing 🔗

A key feature of EIPs is industrial symbiosis – where one factory’s waste becomes another factory’s raw material. India’s most prominent example of eco-industrial development is the Naroda by-product exchange network in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In such networks, companies share waste streams, energy, water, and logistics, reducing both costs and environmental footprints.

Research on industrial estates in India has shown that the formation of ecologically balanced industrial systems can result in numerous environmental and economic benefits, and that integrated approaches combining industrial symbiosis with carrying capacity concepts are essential for sustainable estate planning.

Cleaner production technologies 🔗

Sustainable site management also requires industries within estates to adopt cleaner production methods. This includes using low-emission manufacturing processes, installing energy-efficient equipment, implementing water recycling and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems, and transitioning to renewable energy sources. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has been actively supporting the transition of traditional industrial parks into eco-industrial parks in countries including India.

Environmental management systems 🔗

Implementing formal environmental management systems like ISO 14001 at the estate level (not just at individual unit level) helps create a systematic approach to monitoring and reducing environmental impacts. This includes regular environmental audits, emission and effluent tracking, green belt maintenance, and compliance reporting. CPCB has also taken up the development of eco-industrial estates in the country, initially with technical support from German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) under the Indo-German Bilateral Programme.

Green belt development and buffer zones 🔗

Every industrial estate is expected to maintain green belts along its boundaries to act as natural buffers against air and noise pollution. Buffer zones also help protect adjacent residential areas, agricultural land, and water bodies from the direct impact of industrial operations. The width and composition of green belts are typically specified in the environmental clearance conditions.

Connecting the dots: from siting to sustainability 🔗

The entire framework – from EIA siting criteria and the Zoning Atlas to eco-industrial park development – is designed to answer one fundamental question: how can India continue to industrialise without destroying the environmental systems that support its population? The answer lies in treating site selection not as a bureaucratic hurdle but as a strategic decision that shapes the environmental performance of an industrial estate for decades to come.

When siting criteria are properly applied and the Zoning Atlas is used as a planning tool, industrial estates can coexist with sensitive ecosystems, support local communities, and maintain compliance with environmental regulations. When they are ignored, the consequences – from polluted rivers to toxic air to legal moratoriums – are well documented across India’s industrial landscape.

What do you think? Should India make the Zoning Atlas mandatory for all new industrial estate proposals, rather than treating it as an advisory tool? And how can smaller industrial clusters, which often fall outside the formal EIA process, be encouraged to adopt sustainable siting and management practices?

References

1. https://moef.gov.in/
2. https://environmentclearance.nic.in/
3. https://cpcb.nic.in/
4. https://www.unido.org/