The Ministry of Environment & Forest, Govt. of India (MoEF) was implementing a project on Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management (CBIPMP) with financial and technical assistance from the World Bank. Under this Project APPCB contracted EMC to prepare a blueprint of Environmental Compliance Assistance Centre (ECAC).

Establishment of the ECAC was a new concept where the regulator was expected to play a role of a facilitator and providing assistance and guidance to its clients (industries and other stakeholders). The idea was that ECAC will be an independent agency while under the support of APPCB but yet operating from an arm’s distance. The assignment involved conducting need assessment of stakeholders by holding workshops at various locations in Andhra Pradesh, identifying catalogue of services which the ECAC could offer. These services were expected to improve both compliance and competitiveness of the industries, with a special focus on SMEs. Areas of private sector participation and use of certification schemes were also covered. Business models were developed for each of the services to ensure that the ECAC would be self-reliant and not dependent on any grants. A blueprint was developed for the operation of ECAC on this basis while identifying the human resources needs.