RTI for Environmental Issues: Pollution Complaints, Factory NOCs, and Environmental Clearances

If you live near an industrial area, a construction site, or a stretch of forest that is being cleared, you have probably felt the gap between what the law promises and what actually happens on the ground. Factories are supposed to operate only with valid consent from the pollution control board. Construction projects above a certain scale are supposed to get an Environmental Clearance only after public hearings and independent assessment. Trees are not supposed to be felled without permission. And yet, in practice, citizens often have no way of finding out whether any of these approvals were actually obtained — or whether the factory next door is violating the conditions of its consent.

RTI closes that gap. Environmental decisions — factory approvals, pollution monitoring data, tree-felling permissions, environmental impact assessments — are government records. They are created by public authorities, maintained by public authorities, and the Right to Information Act, 2005 gives every citizen the right to inspect and obtain certified copies of these records under Section 6. A 30-day deadline under Section 7(1) applies. No discretion. No "we'll look into it." A legal obligation to respond.

This guide walks through every major category of environmental information you can demand through RTI — who holds it, how to frame your questions, and what to do if you hit a wall.

Why Environmental RTIs Matter More Than Most

Environmental decisions often affect people who have the least political power to resist them. A worker in an industrial estate or a family living 200 metres from a polluting factory is directly harmed by emission violations, but has no automatic right to see the monitoring data the factory submits to the pollution control board. A community near a proposed dam or highway project is entitled to participate in a public hearing — but only if the public hearing is actually held and the community is informed it is happening.

RTI is the mechanism that makes these decisions visible. When citizens start asking for pollution monitoring data, factory inspection reports, and environmental clearance conditions, regulatory agencies cannot operate purely in the background. The act of asking — and putting a legal clock on the answer — is itself a form of accountability.

There is also a practical dimension. If you are involved in a legal challenge against a project — a public interest litigation, a complaint to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), or a complaint to the State Pollution Control Board — government documents obtained through RTI form the factual foundation. A certified copy of a show-cause notice served on a factory is far more powerful in an NGT petition than a secondhand account of what a factory worker overheard.

Environmental Clearances Under the EIA Notification, 2006

What is an Environmental Clearance?

The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, requires that certain categories of projects — mining operations, industrial clusters, highway construction, river valley projects, thermal power plants, real estate developments above a certain threshold, and many others — obtain an Environmental Clearance (EC) before construction or operation begins.

The process involves the project proponent submitting an EIA report, a public hearing in the affected area, appraisal by an Expert Appraisal Committee, and final grant of EC with conditions attached. The EC itself specifies what the project is allowed to do, what mitigation measures must be in place, and what monitoring it must carry out and report to the regulatory authority.

What You Can Ask Through RTI

If you believe a project in your area was supposed to get an EC but you are not sure it did — or you want to check whether it is actually complying with the conditions imposed — here is what to ask:

• Whether an Environmental Clearance was granted for a specific project, and if so, the EC grant letter with all conditions.
• The EIA report prepared for the project. This is a technical document running to hundreds of pages that describes the baseline environmental conditions, the predicted impacts, and the proposed mitigation measures. It is a public document; the project proponent cannot claim it as proprietary.
• Public hearing minutes: Whether a public hearing was conducted, on what date, who attended, what objections were raised, and how the project proponent responded. If the public hearing was supposed to happen but did not, the absence of a record is itself significant.
• Environmental Compliance Monitoring Reports (ECMRs): After an EC is granted, the project proponent is required to submit half-yearly compliance reports to the regulatory authority. These reports tell you whether the project has actually implemented the mitigation measures it promised. Ask for "all environmental compliance monitoring reports submitted by project name since the grant of Environmental Clearance."
• Any show-cause notice or closure notice issued to the project for EC violations.

Who to File With

The correct CPIO depends on whether the project needed Central-level or State-level clearance:

• Central-level clearances (for Category A projects — large industrial, mining, and infrastructure projects): CPIO at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), New Delhi. MoEFCC is a Central Government body — if the CPIO refuses and the First Appellate Authority does not help, the Second Appeal goes to the Central Information Commission (CIC).
• State-level clearances (for Category B projects — smaller industrial units, medium-size real estate projects, certain quarries): CPIO at the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) of the relevant state. SEIAA is a state government body — second appeal goes to the State Information Commission (SIC) of that state.

One practical tip: before filing an RTI, check the MoEFCC's Parivesh portal (parivesh.nic.in). A large amount of EIA documentation — EC grant letters, EIA reports, public hearing minutes, compliance reports — has been uploaded there for projects that went through the online process. Downloading from the portal is faster than waiting 30 days for an RTI response. But for older projects, incomplete records, or certified copies you need for legal proceedings, RTI remains the correct route.

Factory Consent: CTE, CTO, and What They Mean

The Legal Framework

Under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, any industry that discharges effluents into water bodies or emits air pollutants must obtain consent from the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) — depending on the state.

There are two stages:

• Consent to Establish (CTE): Issued before the factory is built or expanded. It permits the establishment of the industrial unit.
• Consent to Operate (CTO): Issued before the factory begins production. It permits the factory to actually operate, and specifies conditions — emission limits, effluent treatment standards, stack height requirements, frequency of self-monitoring, and so on.

A factory operating without a valid CTO, or operating in violation of CTO conditions, is in breach of both the Water Act and the Air Act. But unless someone asks, the SPCB's records of violations tend to stay inside the SPCB's files.

What You Can Ask Through RTI

If you are concerned about a specific factory or industrial unit in your area, the following RTI questions are among the most useful:

• Whether the factory has a valid CTO currently in force, and the date of its last renewal. CTOs have to be renewed periodically — a lapsed CTO is itself a violation.
• A copy of the CTO and all conditions attached to it: This tells you what the factory is actually permitted to do and what limits it is supposed to stay within.
• Pollution monitoring data submitted by the factory: Industries are required to submit self-monitoring reports to the SPCB at regular intervals. These reports contain measurements of stack emissions, effluent quality, and ambient air quality near the factory boundary. Ask for "all self-monitoring / stack monitoring reports submitted by factory name to the SPCB for the period date range."
• Inspection reports: SPCBs are supposed to inspect industrial units. Ask for copies of all inspection reports prepared for the factory, including the date of inspection, name of the inspecting officer, findings, and any directions issued.
• Show-cause notices or violation records: Ask for copies of any show-cause notices, closure directions, or penalty orders issued to the factory.
• The factory's category: Industries are classified as Red (highly polluting), Orange (moderately polluting), or Green (low pollution potential). Knowing the category tells you the applicable environmental norms.

If you do not know the specific factory responsible for pollution in your area, you can ask for a broader list: "Please provide a list of all industrial units with valid CTO in locality/district, their category (Red/Orange/Green), and the date of their last inspection." This can help you identify who is operating in the area and whether any units have lapsed consents.

Who to File With

• For all states except Delhi: CPIO at the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) of the relevant state. These are state government bodies — second appeal goes to the SIC of that state.
• For Delhi: CPIO at the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). Delhi has a Pollution Control Committee rather than a Board (because Delhi is a Union Territory). DPCC is administered by the GNCTD — second appeal goes to the Delhi Information Commission (DIC).

Air Quality and Water Quality Monitoring Data

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under MoEFCC maintains the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme, a network of real-time air quality monitoring stations across India that measures pollutants including PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, and ozone. CPCB also monitors water quality in major river systems.

Much of this data is publicly available on CPCB's website, but real-time dashboards do not always reflect the full historical dataset, and the underlying raw data, station-wise reports, and annual assessments often need to be formally requested.

Through RTI, you can ask CPCB for:

• Historical air quality monitoring data for a specific CPCB monitoring station and a specific time period — for example, daily PM2.5 and PM10 readings for 2023 and 2024 at the monitoring station at location.
• Water quality monitoring data for a specific river or water body — the results of water quality surveys showing BOD, COD, dissolved oxygen, coliform counts, heavy metal levels, and other parameters.
• CPCB's annual reports on air or water quality for a specific region.
• Any show-cause notices or directions issued by CPCB to a state body or industry under the Water Act or Air Act.

CPCB is a Central Government body — second appeal to CIC.

State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) for Local Data

For air and water monitoring data specific to a state's own monitoring network, the relevant SPCB will hold that data. Many SPCBs operate their own monitoring stations independent of CPCB's national network. Ask the SPCB for:

• Ambient air quality monitoring data from the SPCB's own monitoring stations near your location.
• River or lake water quality survey results for specific water bodies in your area.

SPCB data: state government body — second appeal to SIC of that state.

Tree-Felling Permissions and Forest Clearances

Tree-Felling in Urban and Semi-Urban Areas

Trees on government land, roads, public parks, and reserved forests cannot legally be felled without permission. In practice, large numbers of trees are felled — for road widening, construction projects, metro work, development schemes — and the permissions are not always publicised.

Through RTI, you can ask:

• Whether permission was obtained to fell trees in a specific area, and if so, from which authority and on what date.
• A copy of the order granting permission, including the number of trees permitted to be felled, their species, and the girth.
• Conditions imposed on the permission, including whether compensatory plantation was required and whether it has been carried out.
• The status of the compensatory plantation: How many trees were planted in lieu of the felled trees, where, and whether a post-plantation inspection has been done.

Who to file with:

• In most states: CPIO at the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) or the State Forest Department in the relevant district. These are state government bodies — second appeal to SIC.
• In Delhi: CPIO at the Delhi Forest Department (Government of NCT of Delhi) — second appeal to DIC.

Forest Clearances Under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980

The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 prohibits the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes without prior approval of the Central Government — a process known as Forest Clearance, which proceeds in two stages (Stage I in-principle approval and Stage II final approval).

This matters for large projects: highways cutting through forest areas, mining in forest-adjacent zones, power lines, pipelines. If you believe a project is operating on or through forest land without a Forest Clearance, or if you want to check whether a clearance was properly obtained:

• Ask the CPIO at MoEFCC's Forest Conservation Division (Central Government, New Delhi): whether a Stage I and Stage II Forest Clearance was granted for project name/description in location; a copy of the clearance order and conditions; any compliance reports submitted by the project under Forest Clearance conditions.
• MoEFCC is a Central Government body — second appeal to CIC.

For whether a state forest department approved a compensatory afforestation plan or a site inspection report under the Forest Clearance conditions: CPIO at the State Forest Department — second appeal to SIC of that state.

Hazardous Waste: Who is Dumping What

The Legal Framework

The Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, made under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, require industries that generate, store, transport, or dispose of hazardous waste to be authorised by the SPCB. They must maintain records of waste generated, stored, and sent for disposal, and submit annual returns.

Illegal dumping of hazardous waste — chemical sludge in open fields, effluent discharged into storm drains — is one of the most persistent environmental enforcement failures in India. And yet the SPCB's records often contain evidence of violations that never result in action.

What to Ask

• A list of all industries in area/district that are registered hazardous waste generators under the Hazardous Waste Rules, along with their authorisation number and the categories of waste they are authorised to handle.
• Whether a specific factory or facility has a valid waste disposal authorisation from the SPCB.
• The annual returns submitted by a specific factory showing the quantity of hazardous waste generated and disposed of.
• Inspection reports or complaint-action reports for any complaint of illegal dumping at a specific location.

Who to file with: CPIO at the SPCB (or DPCC for Delhi). For municipal solid waste complaints (not industrial): CPIO at the relevant municipal corporation. Second appeals: SIC (or DIC for Delhi).

Dealing With Section 8(1)(d) Refusals: Environmental Data Is Not Commercial Confidence

This is one of the most important things to understand about environmental RTIs, because it comes up regularly and it is almost always wrong.

Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act exempts from disclosure "information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party." Regulatory authorities — and even CPIOs — sometimes invoke this provision when an RTI asks for EIA reports, pollution monitoring data, or factory consent conditions, on the argument that this data was submitted by the project proponent or the factory and belongs to them.

This argument fails, and here is why:

Environmental and public health data submitted to a regulatory authority for compliance purposes is not commercial confidence. The test under Section 8(1)(d) is not simply that a private party provided the information — it is that disclosure would harm that party's competitive position. Emission levels from a factory's stacks, the wastewater quality of its effluent, or the predicted environmental impact of a project are not trade secrets. They are compliance data. Disclosing that a factory emitted X amount of sulphur dioxide does not give a competitor an advantage.

More importantly: Section 8(2) of the RTI Act provides an explicit public interest override. Even if information falls under a Section 8(1) exemption, disclosure is still required if "the public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests." Environmental and public health information affecting communities around an industrial project almost always satisfies the public interest test.

If your environmental RTI is refused under Section 8(1)(d):

1. File a First Appeal under Section 19(1) within 30 days. Address it to the First Appellate Authority (a senior officer in the same department).
2. In the appeal, make these two points explicitly:
   • Environmental monitoring data submitted to a regulatory body for compliance purposes does not constitute commercial confidence under Section 8(1)(d). Cite the plain language of the provision: the test is harm to competitive position, which emission data and EIA reports do not satisfy.
   • Even if the exemption were to apply, Section 8(2) requires disclosure when public interest outweighs the harm. The health and safety of communities living near industrial areas and major infrastructure projects is precisely the kind of public interest that Section 8(2) was designed for.
3. If the First Appeal also fails, file a Second Appeal under Section 19(3) with the CIC or SIC, as applicable.

In practice, Information Commissioners at both the CIC and various SICs have repeatedly directed disclosure of EIA reports and factory pollution monitoring data after Section 8(1)(d) was wrongly invoked. Do not be deterred by a refusal at the CPIO stage.

Practical Tips for Filing Environmental RTIs

A few things to get right before you draft your application:

Identify the correct regulatory body first. This is the most common error in environmental RTIs. The key question is: are you asking about an air or water consent (which is with the SPCB or DPCC), or an Environmental Clearance (which is with MoEFCC for Category A or SEIAA for Category B projects)? These are completely different systems under different laws administered by different authorities. An RTI filed with the wrong body will be transferred or simply ignored.

Quick rule of thumb:

• Factory consent / CTO / CTE: SPCB or DPCC
• Environmental Clearance for a project: MoEFCC (Category A) or SEIAA (Category B)
• Air and water quality monitoring: CPCB (national level) or SPCB (state level)
• Tree-felling: State Forest Department or DFO (Delhi Forest Department in Delhi)
• Forest Clearance for projects: MoEFCC

Be specific about the entity you are asking about. Vague RTI questions produce vague responses. Provide the factory's name, its address, and if you know it, its registration number or consent number. For construction projects, provide the name of the project, the location, and the approximate year it was proposed. The more the CPIO can identify what you are asking about, the less room there is to say "information not available."

For construction projects, ask a sequence of questions. Don't just ask whether an EC was obtained — ask: Was an EIA required for this project under the EIA Notification 2006? Was a public hearing conducted? If yes, provide the date, venue, and minutes. If no, provide the reason why a public hearing was not conducted. Was an EC granted? If yes, provide the grant letter. This layered approach prevents the CPIO from giving a technically correct but misleading one-word answer.

Check publicly available sources first. For Central-level Environmental Clearances, the Parivesh portal is the starting point. For CPCB air quality data, the CPCB website has historical datasets. Checking these first helps you understand what is already available, and lets you frame your RTI more precisely — asking for specific years, specific monitoring stations, or specific documents you know exist but could not access.

Keep a copy of everything you receive. Environmental RTI responses — factory inspection reports, compliance monitoring data, EC conditions — are primary source documents. If you are building a record for a complaint to the NGT or a pollution control board, these certified copies are the foundation.

Environmental accountability in India rarely happens automatically. Pollution control boards are understaffed, monitoring is patchy, and industries with political connections sometimes operate in violation of their own consents for years without consequence. RTI does not fix all of this — but it creates a paper trail, puts a legal clock on responses, and gives citizens the documented evidence they need to escalate through the right channels.

If you are dealing with an environmental issue — a suspected polluter, an unclear construction project, a forest being cleared — and need help identifying which authority to file with, drafting your RTI questions precisely, or preparing a First Appeal after a refusal, RTISathi.com has tools and guides built specifically for this. A well-targeted RTI application takes fifteen minutes to draft and can take months off the time it takes to get answers.