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Industry owners are complying with Pollution Norms: President
PIA is in the process of setting up a common effluent treatment plant to cater to 250 to 300 units: R. Krishnamurthy
There seems to be a disparity in the finding of a research study and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on the issue of industrial pollution caused in Peenya Industrial Area, among others.
According to a year-long study conducted by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), heavy metals from Peenya Industrial Area are being released into the Vrishabhavathi river, adding to the untreated sewage that is polluting the once pristine river.
However, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has stated that industrial pollution is now under control and any remaining pollution can be attributed to tiny informal industries that “operate under the radar” or to domestic sewage, which goes against the grain of the report from ATREE.
As per ATREE findings, heavy metals include chromium, zinc, copper, lead, manganese and aluminium, and it has documented discharge from alloy smelters, textile industries and electroplating units as the main contributors to the heavy metal load.
The KSPCB has stated that it has been making sustained efforts to control pollution in Peenya Industrial Area and other industrial estates, by requiring red-category units to install effluent treatment plants. In a widely published statement, KSPCB Chairman Sri Lakshman said they have been studying groundwater pollution. “We have not been giving permission to electroplating industries. There is talk of shifting electroplating industries out of Bengaluru. We have been monitoring electroplating industries and dyeing units closely. There is night squad in these areas to keep a check on those illegally discharging heavy metal waste into the river,” he said.The researchers have stated that monitoring the Peenya stream at multiple points and mapping potentially polluting industries and facilities not listed in the KSPCB database revealed that at least 50 per cent of the heavy metal loads were coming from the Peenya Industrial Area and other designated industrial areas nearby.
In a strong response, Sri R. Krishnamurthy, President, PIA, countered that Industry owners are complying with rules and regulations. “We have a water and drainage system in place. The pollution control board has taken action against those discharging untreated industrial waste. Though, there is no common treatment plant, industries have their own individual plants,” he clarified. PIA representatives maintain that as per their information all effluents were being treated and used by the industries. “The PIA is also in the process of setting up a common effluent treatment plant to cater to 250 to 300 units, and they also have a water task force, they said.
“It is very easy to pin the blame of industries for causing pollution,” the PIA President added. “It is not our case that there are virtually no black sheep among the industries. But the entire MSME entrepreneurs should not be blamed for a few errant cases. It is true that there were instances of illegal effluent discharge but that was nearly four years ago. The KSPCB has been conducting random checks at night time as well to prevent industries operating under the radar discharging untreated industrial waste. What is to be noted is that we at PIA are fully cooperating with the KSPCB on this issue, and also constantly educating our entrepre-neurs not to resort to steps that increase pollution. We have called for a meeting with KSPCB officials so that we can work together to tackle this menace,” he noted.
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