The Dehradun Zila Udyog Mitra Samiti has decided that industries in the district will have to secure consent from the Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) once every three years in stead of on an annual basis. While this decision has been opposed by environmental activists, the officials state that this decision would not result in a relaxed stance towards industrial pollution.
Recently in the board meeting of the Zila Udyog Mitra Samiti chaired by the district magistrate Chandresh Kumar, the board decided that industries operating in the district will not have to secure the mandatory consent from UEPPCB every year but secure it once in three years.
The Citizens For Green Doon (CFGD) chief co-coordinator Dr Nitin Pandey said that the UEPPCB conducts inspections before granting its consent to industries. “Considering the importance of the ecological aspect in Dehradun valley, the decision to enable industries to work with the board’s consent once in three years is wrong and we will work to prevent its implementation,” stressed Dr Pandey.
People For Animals, Uttarakhand member secretary Gauri Maulekhi who has filed an application in the National Green Tribunal against pollution by Century Pulp and Paper Mill in lalkuan, has also questioned this decision.
However, she also said that the UEPPCB has been working as more of a rubber stamp than a body that acts effectively against polluters. “The UEPPCB rarely initiates effective action against the industries that blatantly flout pollution control norms.
The board is more of a rubber stamp that facilitates the continued operation of industries flouting environmental norms in Uttarakhand. The board has already made a joke of itself by not taking required action against those flouting the norms,” she said.
Meanwhile, the UEPPCB Dehradun regional officer SS Rana said that the board had not yet received a circular regarding the decision taken in the Zila Udyog Mitra Samiti board meeting.
However, he said that he had learnt that the decision in question was taken only for green category industrial units that do not generate effluents. “Even if the consent is required once in three years, the board will continue to regularly monitor the industries and act against those flouting the norms,” he stressed.