Now Maharashtra has been added to the list of states that will introduce a market based system for air pollution in India. The environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will work with three state pollution control boards (SPCB) to introduce a market based system for control of air pollution in the country.

The two states which had been previously selected for this initiative are Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. “This is going to redefine the nature of environmental regulation,” Ramesh said while addressing a conference on the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity in New Delhi.

The ministry of environment and forests has taken up this initiative in collaboration with the World Bank. The proposed system seeks to introduce a system of self-regulation among industrial units by putting a price on emission of pollutants. As a part of this, the SPCB will set an overall limit on emissions of pollutants. The industrial units will then self-regulate to ensure that they operate within these limits.

Ramesh said that the Green India Mission aimed at improving the quality of the forests in India is expected to be launched in two weeks’ time. He added that the salient feature of this mission is going to be that the forest department will not be solely responsible for its implementation. “Local bodies, local self groups and other groups will implement it with the help of the forest department,” the minister said.

He added that this mission was an opportunity to bring a paradigm shift in the management of forests in India. “People have to become partners,” Ramesh said.