Pollution Consent (CTE/CTO) for a Factory in Karnataka: KSPCB Process and Documents

In Karnataka the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) calls the two consents Consent for Establishment (CFE) and Consent for Operation (CFO). You need CFE before you build and CFO before you produce, applied for on the Board's XGN online system. KSPCB states consent validity of 5 years for red, 5 for orange and 10 for green units, and sets working-day limits under the state's SAKALA rules.

What do CFE and CFO cover?

The Water Act (section 25) and the Air Act (section 21) require prior consent to establish an industrial plant and then to operate it. For the Air Act, the State Government has declared the entire State of Karnataka an air pollution control area, which KSPCB records in its own notifications, so the consent requirement applies across the state. KSPCB's consent pages place units in red, orange, green and white categories, using a recategorisation notified on 27 July 2020. White-category units are listed separately, and in October 2025 the Centre also exempted 86 white-category sectors from consent (G.S.R. 761(E) and 762(E)).

The categories matter in three ways: validity, who decides, and how long the Board has to decide.

The validity figures are KSPCB's, from its categorisation page and the 2016 notification it cites. The time limits come from a KSPCB circular of February 2022 that adopts the revised SAKALA service timelines. Both are the Board's own documents and may have been revised, so confirm them with the regional office before you plan a schedule around them.

What does the environmental clearance rule change?

If your project is covered by the EIA Notification 2006, the clearance sits in front of the consent. KSPCB's office memorandum of 26 July 2022 repeats a Ministry direction of 20 September 2021 under section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act: before granting CFE, the Board must check whether the activity falls under the EIA Notification, and it may grant CFE subject to a condition to obtain clearance. It may not grant or renew CFO unless the clearance has been obtained.

A July 2023 addendum says when KSPCB accepts a CFE application from such a project. For a category A or B1 project that needs public consultation, it accepts the application after the proceedings of the public hearing are uploaded on the KSPCB site. For an A or B1 project without public consultation, it accepts after the terms of reference are issued. For a B2 project, it accepts on proof that the clearance application has been submitted. The practical lesson is to start the clearance track early, because it fixes when the consent clock can begin.

How is the application made?

KSPCB's home page links an XGN online consent application system for CFE, CFE expansion and CFO, and the Board's SAKALA timelines are integrated with XGN. The Board also publishes siting guidelines issued by the Government of Karnataka on 10 December 2021, which you should read before you commit to a plot. The consent fee is set by capital investment under the Karnataka State Board for the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution (Amendment) Rules, 2021 (gazetted on 26 October 2021) and is paid online. KSPCB's fee page defines capital investment to include land, buildings, plant and machinery and similar assets, and says that where land or buildings are on lease, ten times the annual lease value is treated as equivalent. The central consent guidelines of 2025 add that a Registered Environment Auditor may be engaged by the applicant to verify particulars; check whether KSPCB has adopted that route.

Which documents go in?

KSPCB's category page does not carry a single checklist that we could read, so use the list that the central consent guidelines require and that the Gujarat board reproduced in a June 2025 circular, then ask the regional office for the Karnataka list on the day you file. It covers land papers and the lease or rent agreement if any, environmental clearance with the EIA report where the EIA Notification applies, a chartered accountant certificate of capital investment, a layout plan showing the effluent treatment plant, a process write-up with a flow chart, membership of a common treatment facility where relevant, and technical details on the portal. The layout plan is where an MEP contractor's drawings are used directly: the effluent and sewage treatment plant, the stack positions and the water balance should match what you will build.

What does Karnataka require for diesel generator sets?

This one is specific to the state and catches factory electrical plans. KSPCB's notification of 25 May 2023 directs every industry, establishment, project, building, utility and other place operating DG sets of 125 kVA and above in Karnataka to retrofit an emission control device, shift to gas-based generators, or retrofit partial gas use. For engines up to 800 kW, the device has to be type approved under the Central Pollution Control Board's procedure of 1 February 2022; above 800 kW or 1,000 kVA, it has to show at least 70 percent reduction in carbon monoxide, particulate matter and hydrocarbons in testing by one of four listed agencies. The notification gives six months for compliance, after which the Board may act under the Air Act. If you are buying or planning a DG set in Karnataka, put the retrofit device, the stack and the acoustic enclosure on the electrical drawings, and ask the supplier for the type-approval certificate.

How Secured Engineers helps

Design is in-house, so the DG set and stack, the effluent or sewage treatment layout, the water balance and the electrical load are drawn together. Fire NOC, CEIG and DISCOM net-metering filings are done in-house. MEPF and solar can sit under one contract. We work from our Noida (Delhi NCR) and Ludhiana offices, across 535+ projects in 18+ states, and 89.77% of our clients return. For CFE and CFO, our role is the engineering inputs and drawings alongside your environmental consultant. The SPCB consent guide gives the national picture, and the design and approvals service shows how we work with consultants.

If you are preparing a Karnataka file, send us the layout, the process flow, the water balance and the generator schedule, and we will check the drawings before they are filed. Message us on WhatsApp, call +91 70099 85817, or ask for a free proposal. The approvals overview shows how the other pre-start approvals line up.