MP High Court Directs Prompt Action Against Industries Operating Without Valid Pollution Clearance

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the Chief Secretary of the State to ensure prompt and coordinated action is taken against all industries running without a valid pollution clearance.The Court was dealing with a suo moto public interest litigation registered based on the news published in the local newspaper, highlighting that 5961 industries are being run without the valid permission of the M.P. Pollution Control Board. The division bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi observed,"We expect that State will submit a prompt response to such a serious matter which involves the issue of running of industries in violation of statutory provision of M.P. Water Pollution Act and Air Pollution Act. Since there may be involvement of number of departments to make corrective measures, therefore Chief Secretary of State of Madhya Pradesh will ensure prompt action in the matter by co-ordinating with all the concerned departments on the report of Pollution Control Board taken on the next date". The court noted that notices were issued to the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretaries of the Housing and Environmental Department, Industries Department and the MP Pollution Control Board. However, the court observed that only the pollution control board submitted its response. As per MPPCB's reply, the majority of units operating with expired consent include healthcare establishments such as hospitals and clinics, along with mines and stone crusher units, most of which fall under the Red and Orange pollution categories. The board informed the court that several mining crusher units were already closed due to expired mining leases or lack of environmental clearance, and that the data on the XGN portal requires updating. The pollution control board stated that action had been initiated against 4877 units, including issuance of 4256 notices for consent reward, 2556 closure notices under the Water (Prevention and control of pollution) Act and the Air (Prevention and control of pollution) Act. It also submitted that 390 closure orders were issued against repeat defaulters under Section 33 of the Water Act and Section 31A of the Air Act, as well as the filing of 45 cases against non-compliant units. The board further informed the court that the number of units with expired consent had reduced from 5961 to 4877 units. As on January 9 the regional verification revealed that many units were found closed, although the official data updating on the portal was pending. The verification process was expected to be completed within eight weeks. During the hearing, the Deputy Advocate General submitted that the MPPCB's report was not supplied to him, preventing him from making detailed submissions. Thus, the court directed that a copy of the report be furnished to the State Counsel. Expressing concern over thegravity of the issue, the bench emphasized that the matter "involves the issue of running of industries in violation of statutory provision of M.P. Water Pollution Act and Air Pollution Act". Therefore, the court directed the Chief Secretary to ensure that prompt and coordinated action is undertaken by all concerned departments. It was further ordered that a senior government officer be appointed as Officer in Charge of the case. The matter was listed for further hearing on February 9, 2026.Case Title: In Re Suo Moto PIL v State of MP [WP-48095-2025] Amicus Curiae: Senior Advocate Amit Agrawal with Advocate Arjun AgrawalFor State: Deputy Advocate General Sudeep BhargavaFor MP Pollution Control Board: Advocates Parul Bhadoria and Rishabh Singh ChauhanClick here to read/download the Order

MP High Court Directs Prompt Action Against Industries Operating Without Valid Pollution Clearance

Jayanti Pahwa

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