Telangana PCB in a fix over okaying gensets for industrial units

Hyderabad: Pollution Control Board of Telangana is in a fix to issue permissions to industrial units which have been opting for diesel generators to meet the summer demand. Since the emissions from the diesel generators cause immense damage to the environment and public health, every application is being scrutinised with utmost care, detail and precincts, according to a top official of the PCB.

Sources said several companies have been either opting for new DG sets or renewing the older ones through TSPCDCL. “Yes, we have been receiving applications not only at our head office but at the regional office level as well and this time the number may be a little more. We will issue our NOCs below 5 MW generations and for sets beyond that capacity, they have to obtain Environmental Clearance (EC) from the ministry and discom” said Viswanathan, Joint Chief Environmental Engineer of PCB. PCB issues permissions to all residential or commercial clusters whose built up area is 20,000 sq mts for installing their own diesel sets. PCB turns down applications if they fail to meet the requirement on any aspect, sources added.

Sources said some top houses like Reddy Labs and Mahalakshmi Group have approached and one of them has already been sanctioned, said Raghu-rama Rao, regional officer of Ranga Reddy PCB. Some of the units have opted for enhancing the capacity from 250 kVA to 500 kVA. Getting EC from the government is a big headache say industrialists.