New norms tie land allocation for green cover to pollution potential, with higher requirements for red and orange category industries

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued revised criteria for developing green belts around industrial estates and individual industrial units, replacing earlier guidelines issued in October 2020. The new framework is intended to match green cover requirements with the pollution potential of different categories of industry.

According to an office memorandum dated 29 October 2025, industrial estates are now required to set aside at least 10 per cent of their total area as a common green space. Within such estates, red category units must develop 15 per cent of their premises as green cover and orange category units must develop 10 per cent.
For individual industrial units located outside designated estates, red and orange category industries must develop 25 per cent and 20 per cent green cover respectively. These requirements may be reduced by five per cent each if the units are not predominantly air polluting.

Green and white category industries are not subject to mandatory green belt obligations, with the exception of green category industries with an air pollution score of 25 or higher, in which case 10 per cent green cover must be developed within the premises.

The Ministry said a balance was required between land needed for industrial development and the environmental function of green belts, alongside existing pollution abatement conditions set under the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 2006. It said the revised norms follow recommendations made by a committee which examined international practices.

The Ministry stated that industries with higher pollution potential must develop greater green cover to mitigate emissions from their operations, and that the new criteria had been developed following scientific examination by an expert committee.

This information was provided by Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.