The steps taken by the Centre to crack whip on polluting industries have started showing results. Around 920 industries out of 2,800 which were given directions in the recent months to reduce pollution level have installed 24x7 monitoring devices to check emissions and effluents.
“This way nearly 50 per cent of the polluting industrial units have moved towards compliance,” Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said while interacting with the media on Tuesday.
Disclosing that his Ministry has issued directions for the closure of 64 non-complying polluting units, Javadekar said as many as 400 other industrial units have moved towards ensuring Zero liquid Discharge (ZlD).
In another major step to check pollution in the country, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has begun receiving online data on status of compliance on the discharge of effluents and emissions by the polluting industries.
Further, to keep these polluting units on their toes, the Ministry has started a pilot project under which the CPCB will send SMS alerts to polluting industries when they exceed the prescribed levels for more than 15 minutes. The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) have also been asked to gear up to handle data that will be required to be analysed on a real-time basis.
Calling it a “big leap in the management of pollution in the country”, Javadekar said the Ministry was working towards introducing a civil penalties provision against the violators of the prescribed pollution norms.
The Minister further pointed out that steps are afoot to clean the Ganga river, which he described as the top priority of the Government under Swachchh Bharat campaign. There are 630 industries
falling under the “highly polluting” category, of which 440 are tanneries.The effluents of the tanneries are treated at three major Continuous Effluent Monitoring Devices (CETP) at Kanpur, Banthar and Unnao. A complete upgradation of these CETPs has been planned to achieve Zero liquid Discharge.
The Centre extends 50 per cent subsidy to these CETPs and the remaining amount is met by the State Government and the industry. Further, a scheme to use the recycled water from the CETPs, with 50 per cent subsidy by the Centre and 50 per cent by the state and industry, is also being worked out.
The Minister said that out of the remaining 190 other industrial units, along the banks of the Ganga, 80 have already installed ZlD devices and 30 units have placed orders for procurement. “Hence, 110 out of the 190 units have moved towards compliance,” he said.
Adding to the above, upcoming units in distillery, textiles tannery, chemicals, fertilizer, pesticide, dyes and pharmaceuticals will be required to install pollution-monitoring devices and follow a ZlD policy.
Javadekar also called for suggestions from common man on a set of four Draft Waste Management Rules 2015. These include Draft Solid Waste Management Rules 2015, Draft Plastic Waste Management Rules 2015, Draft E-Waste Management Rules 2015, Draft Biomedical Waste Management Rules 2015. The Ministry has also invited suggestions from public on the Draft Fly Ash Utilisation Amendment Notification 2015.
