From January of next year, smaller poultry farms with over 5,000 birds at a single location will need an approval to establish and operate under the Water Act of 1974 and the Air Act of 1981 from the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC).
Following a recent directive from the National Green Tribunal, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has updated the norms that apply to all types of chicken farms. According to the recommendations published by the CPCB in 2015, such consent criteria are now applicable for big farms with over 1 lakh birds.
According to the CPCB, the state/district animal husbandry departments would help poultry farms in implementing the new requirements. The poultry farms will be classified as Green Category, and the consent will be valid for 15 years.
Taking Care of The Environment
According to the CPCB, new poultry farms should be constructed 500 metres from residential zones to reduce stink and flies, and 100 metres from important watercourses such as rivers, lakes, canals, and drinking water sources to avoid pollution due to leaks and spillages.
The updated standards also address environmental concerns raised by poultry farms, such as reducing smell and gaseous pollution through effective ventilation, managing solid waste and hatchery debris, collecting, storing, and composting manure, and disposing of deceased birds, among other things.
The main states in the poultry sector are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and West Bengal, followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, Haryana, Kerala, and Odisha. India has around 851 million chicken birds, according to the 20th livestock census conducted by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
According to sources, because poultry farms, particularly smaller ones, operate in an unorganised sector and are mostly controlled by small farmers, the new regulations would increase operational expenses. The new rules go into effect at a time when poultry farms are still reeling from the effects of Covid-19, which has wreaked havoc on the industry.
