The Odisha Government has launched a star rating system here for industries, the first-of-its-kind initiative in the State, to ensure transparency in compliance to pollution standards. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the programme recently which will rate industries from 1 to 5 based on their efforts to meet the standards set by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB). A joint effort of the SPCB and Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago (EPIC), the project is an example of the State's 3T framework - Teamwork, Transparency and Technology, the CM said.

Patnaik said, "The star rating system will encourage industries to adopt clean technologies. The programme will help public find out whether industries in their vicinity are fair in their environmental compliance. It will also recognise the efforts of industries that take responsibility to maintain clean environment."

On the occasion, the Chief Minister also launched a website, where citizens can access information in this regard.

Economist Michael Greenstone, who is also the director EPIC, said the citizens would be able to identify the sources of pollution through the project. The star rating programme is based on the particulate matter (PM) emissions of large manufacturers of steel, cement, aluminium and major power plants.  It will be implemented with the help of researchers from EPIC-lndia and TCD in a phased manner. It will cover 20 industrial plants initially, and will eventually cover all 136 plants with continuously monitored data. The SPCB Odisha is conducting inspection and recalibration drives to check the quality of data and would be updating the ratings every month, said Chief Environmental Engineer, SPCB AK Swar, who has been nominated as Nodal Officer to coordinate the programme.