**Executive Summary**
This document outlines the revised green belt standards for industrial areas, as directed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in its OM dated 29.10.2025, superseding the OM dated 27th October, 2020. The revisions aim to rationalize green belt requirements based on pollution potential. These changes were presented in a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 04 DEC 2025.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Industrial Estates:**
* Minimum of 10% of the area should be designated as common green area.
* Red category industries within the estate must develop 15% of their premises as green belt/green cover.
* Orange category industries within the estate must develop 10% of their premises as green belt/green cover.
* **Individual Industries Outside Industrial Estates:**
* Red and orange category industries must develop 25% and 20% green belt/green cover, respectively.
* The requirement can be reduced by 5% each if the industries are not predominantly air polluting.
* **Green and White Industries:**
* Green belt/green cover development is optional, with no mandatory requirement.
* For green category industries with an air pollution score ≥25, 10% green belt/green cover is required.
* **Rationale and Development:**
* The changes balance land requirements for projects/activities with environmental needs.
* The rationalization is based on the recommendations of a Committee and examination of international norms.
* The revised criteria were developed based on scientific examination by an expert committee, considering pollution potential.
**Impact Analysis**
**Industrial Estates/Parks**
* **Impact:** New directives on the percentage of green areas required.
* **Action Required:** Update development plans to comply with the new requirements for green area allocation and ensure tenants comply with revised green belt/cover standards.
**Individual Industries**
* **Impact:** Revised green belt/green cover requirements based on pollution category, affecting land use and operational costs.
* **Action Required:** Assess pollution category and current green belt/cover status, then develop or modify plans to meet new requirements, considering the potential for a 5% reduction if not predominantly air polluting.
**Green and White Industries**
* **Impact:** Development of a green belt/green cover is optional.
* **Action Required:** Green category industries must assess air pollution score to determine whether they must develop a 10% green belt/green cover.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change: The central ministry issuing the policy regarding green belt standards.
Greenbelt Standards for Industrial Areas: The subject of the policy, concerning the revision of standards for greenbelts in industrial areas.
EIA Notification 2006: The Environmental Impact Assessment Notification which is the legal framework providing the basis for prior environmental clearance.
Rajya Sabha: The Council of States where the question was addressed.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
PARLIAMENT QUESTION: REVISION OF
GREENBELT STANDARDS FOR INDUSTRIAL
AREAS
प्रव तथ: 04 DEC 2025 4:23PM by PIB Delhi
In order to rationalize the green belt requirement based on pollution potential, the Ministry in its OM
dated 29.10.2025 has directed that the revised criteria for developing green belt/green cover for Industrial
Estates/Parks and individual industries may be adhered to in supersession of the OM dated 27th October,
2020.
The revised criteria, inter-alia, mandates that in Industrial Estates a minimum of 10% of the area of the
industrial estate shall be designated as common green area and red category and orange category Industrial
units within the Estate shall develop 15% and 10% of the area of their premises as green belt/green cover
respectively.
Further, for individual industrial units outside the Industrial Estates, red and orange category industries are
required to develop 25% and 20% green belt/green cover in their respective premises which may be
reduced by 5% each if they are not predominantly air polluting industries.
With regard to green and white industries it has been directed that development of green belt/green cover
is optional with no mandatory requirement, except for green category industries with air pollution score
≥25, in which case such industries shall develop 10% green belt/green cover within their respective
premises.
There was a need to strike a balance between the requirement of land for the Projects/Activities and the
environmental needs of the green belt along with the existing pollution control and abatement measures
prescribed under the general and specific conditions forming part of the prior Environmental Clearance
issued in accordance with the provisions of EIA Notification 2006 as amended, so as to optimize the use
of available land.
Therefore, it was decided to rationalize the green belt requirement based on pollution potential. The
rationalization of green belt/green cover was done based on the recommendations of a Committee, which
was, inter alia, based on examining various International norms for developing green belt/green cover.
The rationale for the revised green belt/green cover norms is that industries with higher pollution potential
such as red category industries and orange category industries need to develop more percentage of green
belt in order to mitigate the pollution that emerges from the industrial activity. The revised criteria has
been developed based on scientific examination by an expert committee and factors pollution potential
while prescribing green belt/green cover requirement.
This information was provided by UNION MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST
AND CLIMATE CHANGE, SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH, in a written reply to a question in Rajya
Sabha today.
*****VM/SK
(Rajya Sabha US Q531)
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