Chandigarh administration to issue notices to 100 service stations

CHANDIGARH: The central government’s strict norms for operating automobile service stations, bus depots or workshops related with disposal of oil and grease have led Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) to decide on issuing notices to over 100 service stations soon.
The ministry the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, in its latest notification, has reduced standard value for oil and grease in these service stations from 20 mg/l to 10 mg/l, forcing service stations to now install effluent treatment plants (ETPs) on their premises to achieve the standard value.
Earlier, these service stations had installed oil and grease traps that the committee used to inspect regularly.
A senior UT official said they have received the notification. Nnotices will be issued to service stations. They will be given 60 to 90 days to install ETPs. Violators will be penalised according to rules and regulations, he added.
In November last year, the committee had issued notices to 84 units, including 81 commercial and three industrial, for violating environment rules. They included hotels, restaurants, sweet shops, fast-food chains, bakeries, dairies and vehicle service stations. The CPCC is a regulatory body granting consent for operation of industrial units under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.