Six major industries and 23 smaller units in Ranipet which were fined Rs 6.7 crore by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) for letting out untreated effluents into the surrounding soil, have decided to approach the Chief Minister to look into the matter, sources revealed.
Vellore:
While some units have paid the fine amounts within the stipulated period of two weeks which ended on Tuesday, members of the Ranipet Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) who were fined around Rs one lakh each have decided to meet the Chief Minister. However, many unit holders preferred anonymity for not wanting to antagonise with the Pollution Board, fearing that it would cause them harm if the matter leaked out, sources said.
However, what aggrieves them the most is the fact that Ranipet which has been declared one of the most polluted cities in India has to do with the State government not removing 2,27 lakh tonnes of chromium based waste which has been accumulated outside the defunct State-owned chemicals and chromates factory that closed its shutters in 1995.
According to R Amithakatesan, president of Ranipet District Tiny and Small Industries Association, repeated requests to the government to remove the accumulated sludge has not borne fruit. He further said that yellow water flows from the area when it rains, contaminating the soil.
The unit was started in 1976 to manufacture chromium sulphate, sodium sulphate and sodium dichromate and stopped operations in 1995.
“But the sludge remains and it causes a lot of problems,” Amirthakatesan said. A report by a company in 2014 stated that it would require Rs 100 crore to remove all sludge over a three-year period. Referring to the leather units, he said, “All were wet process units converting semi-finished leather into finished products and as they are members of the CETP, treated effluents – under the zero liquid discharge concept - are reverted to them for local use. Hence there is no way for such units to discharge untreated effluents. Sludge from such units is disposed of in PCB approved landfills at Gumidipoondi.”
The units were fined the whopping amount at the end of January, based on orders from the Chennai based National Green Tribunal (NGT).
While some units have paid the fine amounts within the stipulated period of two weeks which ended on Tuesday, members of the Ranipet Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) who were fined around Rs one lakh each have decided to meet the Chief Minister. However, many unit holders preferred anonymity for not wanting to antagonise with the Pollution Board, fearing that it would cause them harm if the matter leaked out, sources said.
However, what aggrieves them the most is the fact that Ranipet which has been declared one of the most polluted cities in India has to do with the State government not removing 2,27 lakh tonnes of chromium based waste which has been accumulated outside the defunct State-owned chemicals and chromates factory that closed its shutters in 1995.
According to R Amithakatesan, president of Ranipet District Tiny and Small Industries Association, repeated requests to the government to remove the accumulated sludge has not borne fruit. He further said that yellow water flows from the area when it rains, contaminating the soil.
The unit was started in 1976 to manufacture chromium sulphate, sodium sulphate and sodium dichromate and stopped operations in 1995.
“But the sludge remains and it causes a lot of problems,” Amirthakatesan said. A report by a company in 2014 stated that it would require Rs 100 crore to remove all sludge over a three-year period. Referring to the leather units, he said, “All were wet process units converting semi-finished leather into finished products and as they are members of the CETP, treated effluents – under the zero liquid discharge concept - are reverted to them for local use. Hence there is no way for such units to discharge untreated effluents. Sludge from such units is disposed of in PCB approved landfills at Gumidipoondi.”