Jaipur: With 472 industrial areas and more than 42,344 industrial units in production, the board of Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) approved a decision to create a dedicated environment management cadre to strengthen pollution control, regulatory compliance, environmental litigation management and plantation.The proposal to create the cadre having a strength of 19 posts has been sent to the finance department for approval.Currently, RIICO officials handle environmental issues and plantation in its industrial areas. However, expanding industrial infrastructure and increasing regulatory requirements have made it difficult for them to devote adequate attention to these responsibilities.“Environmental protection is a specialised field and is paramount for the holistic development of the state. We need specialists to ensure compliance with environmental norms as Rajasthan expands its industrial base,” a senior RIICO official said.While the proposed environment management cell will have eight posts, the horticulture cell will comprise 11 posts, including one manager, three deputy managers and seven supervisors.The proposed cadre will help monitor polluting industries, coordinate with the RSPCB and track compliance with environmental clearances and pollution-control requirements. The board’s move comes amid environmental concerns in industrial belts such as Pali, Balotra, Jodhpur and Bikaner.The RSPCB’s recent mandate requiring industrial areas to obtain consent to establish (CTE) and consent to operate (CTO) has added to the compliance workload. A specialised team could also help RIICO address environment-related litigation by providing technical inputs, preparing compliance reports and coordinating responses to court and regulatory directions.With 33 regional offices managing its industrial infrastructure, RIICO expects the proposed structure to provide specialised support across its expanding network. The creation of the two cells will depend on the state govt’s approval of the proposed posts and their financial implications.
