CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board)

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is India's apex statutory authority for environmental regulation, constituted under Section 3 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and functioning as a field formation of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The CPCB advises the Central Government on water and air pollution prevention, coordinates SPCB activities, frames national standards, and operates as the implementing authority for several extended producer responsibility regimes including e-waste, plastic packaging, battery, and used oil.

CPCB's core regulatory functions include:

• Standards setting — national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), industrial emission norms (Schedule I of EPR 1986), effluent discharge standards (Schedule VI)
• EPR portal operation — Centralised online platforms for E-Waste EPR Portal, Plastic Packaging EPR Portal, Battery EPR Portal, where producers, importers, and recyclers register, file returns, and trade EPR certificates
• Hazardous waste oversight — Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules 2016 implementation, including the online tracking system for cradle-to-grave waste manifest
• Air quality monitoring — National Air Quality Index, real-time monitoring network, GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) recommendations for NCR pollution episodes
• Environmental Compensation — Levy on producers and recyclers who miss EPR targets, calculated per CPCB-published methodology

The Board is headquartered in Delhi (Parivesh Bhawan, East Arjun Nagar) with 6 zonal offices and 1 project office. It has approximately 600 sanctioned posts and a substantially larger contract workforce. The Chairman is a senior bureaucrat or scientist with a 3-year tenure, and the Board includes representatives of Central Government ministries, SPCBs, scientific institutions, and farmer/labour interests.

For Indian recycling entrepreneurs, CPCB is most directly encountered through EPR registration. E-Waste recyclers must register on the EPR Portal, receive a Recycler ID, and upload monthly processing data that generates EPR Certificates for sale to producers. CPCB also publishes a public list of registered, suspended, and cancelled recyclers — being delisted effectively terminates a business. CPCB's enforcement powers are exercised through SPCBs at state level; the Board itself can issue directions, conduct audits, and impose Environmental Compensation, but day-to-day inspection is delegated to states.