33 brick kilns operating illegally in Jaipur

JAIPUR: The CAG report expresses alarm over the illegal operation of 33 brick kilns in Jaipur.
The documents express surprise that no concrete steps were taken by Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) against these units. “Out of 33, three were found to have been running regularly during inspection carried out by the officials. Even the closure notice issued to them six years ago went unheard,” said CAG report.

The poor state of affairs didn't stop here. Kota Super Thermal Power Stations and Chhabra Thermal Power Plant were operating without consent to operate. The document says that it is a sheer violation of provision of the law. Hitting out at the transport department, the report says that the department has failed to prepare an action plan was taken to ensure that the pollution under control certificate centres were functioning as per prescribed norms.

Commenting on the slow working of RSPCB, the report says that they did not evolve any mechanism to watch the renewal of consent to operate after expiry of the validity period of consent issued earlier. There was inordinate delay in issuing consents. They were issued with retrospective effect in some cases. To check 573 cases of the selected ROs revealed that 74 industries had run without consent to operate for periods ranging from 14 to 3,088 days. During a joint inspection, 12 units were found operating though their CTOs had expired.

In Jodhpur, the first measurement of PM2.5 was taken after 42 months of installation of sampler and only 19 measurements were taken up to June 2015 against 120 measurements required to be taken.

“In the absence of proper monitoring of PM2.5, the purpose of procuring the costly equipment defeated. The number of detection and death cases of silicosis was continuously increasing. The detection and death cases were 304 and one respectively in 2012-13 which shot up manifold to 4,931.”