A practical, high-impact list of variable data points you should collect for a nationwide pollution-control database of Indian factories. These are structured so they can be used in regulation, monitoring, analytics, and audits


1. Factory Identification & Classification

These make the unit uniquely identifiable.

Basic Info

  • Factory Name
  • Address (State, District, PIN)
  • GPS Coordinates
  • Owner/Company Name
  • Contact Details
  • Factory Type (Large, Medium, Small – MSME category)
  • Industry Category (Red / Orange / Green)

Regulatory IDs

  • CIN (Corporate Identification Number)
  • GSTIN
  • PCB Consent to Establish (CTE) Number
  • PCB Consent to Operate (CTO) Number
  • Validity Dates (CTE, CTO)

2. Production Data (Variable)

Needed to link pollution load to scale of operations.

  • Daily/Monthly Production Quantity
  • Raw Materials Consumption
  • Energy Consumption (electricity, coal, gas, diesel)
  • Hours of Operation per Day
  • Seasonal Variations (Monsoon/Winter/Summer)

3. Air Pollution Data

Emission Source Details

  • Boilers (type, capacity, fuel)
  • Furnaces/Kilns
  • Generators
  • Stacks (height, diameter)

Continuous Emission Monitoring (CEMS) Data

  • PM₂.₅, PM₁₀
  • SO₂
  • NOₓ
  • CO
  • CO₂
  • VOCs
  • Ammonia
  • Opacity
  • Flue Gas Temperature
  • Flow Rate

Air Pollution Control Devices

  • Scrubber type & efficiency
  • ESP (Electrostatic Precipitator) performance
  • Bag filter condition
  • Activated carbon filters
  • Maintenance logs
  • Downtime events

4. Water Pollution Data

Water Use

  • Total Freshwater Intake (daily/monthly)
  • Groundwater Extraction (requires CGWA compliance)
  • Recycled/Reused Water

Effluent Data

  • Total Effluent Generated
  • Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) capacity
  • Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) membership

Pollutant Measurements

  • pH
  • BOD, COD
  • TSS (Total Suspended Solids)
  • TDS
  • Oil & Grease
  • Heavy Metals (Lead, Chromium, Mercury, Arsenic)
  • Ammonia
  • Nitrates
  • Phosphates

ETP Monitoring

  • Inlet vs outlet water quality
  • Sludge generation
  • ETP downtime logs
  • Treated water discharge location (river, drain, land irrigation)

5. Solid Waste & Hazardous Waste

  • Type of Waste (Category as per Hazardous Waste Rules)
  • Daily/Monthly Waste Quantity
  • Method of Storage
  • Disposal Method (incineration, landfill, recycling)
  • Disposal Partner Details (TSDF or recycler)
  • Manifest Tracking Numbers
  • Fly ash generation & utilization

6. Noise Pollution

  • Decibel readings at boundary
  • Decibel readings at workplace
  • Equipment list causing noise
  • Shift-wise variation

7. Environmental Compliance History

  • Last Inspection Date
  • Inspection Reports
  • Show-cause Notices
  • Environmental Compensation Fines
  • Legal Cases
  • Accidents or Hazardous Events
  • Complaints by Citizens/NGOs

8. Green Measures / ESG Data

  • Renewable Energy Usage (solar, wind)
  • Carbon Footprint Estimates
  • Rainwater Harvesting
  • Plantation/Green belt area
  • Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) compliance
  • ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) certification
  • CSR activities related to environment

9. Surrounding Environment Data

Useful for hotspot mapping.

  • Nearby rivers, lakes, ponds
  • Groundwater table depth
  • AQI of surrounding region
  • Population density in 2 km radius
  • Sensitive receptors (schools, hospitals, wildlife areas)

10. IoT Sensor Integration (Real-time)

If building a modern database:

  • Real-time stack emissions (CEMS)
  • Real-time effluent quality (CEQMS)
  • Real-time noise sensors
  • Real-time groundwater level monitors
  • Power consumption sensors (helps detect illegal operations at night)

⭐ Recommended Final Schema Structure

Divide into 6 master tables:

  1. Factory Master
  2. Production Data
  3. Air Pollution & CEMS Data
  4. Water Pollution & CEQMS Data
  5. Waste Management
  6. Compliance & Enforcement