Kerala: May 22 deadline for polluters

KOCHI: The State Pollution Control Board has issued a general notification to all registered industrial units, including the red, orange, green and white categories, asking them to set up proper effluent treatment plants by May 22. The notification issued on the basis of the recent Supreme Court order will impact over  50, 000 registered units in the state. All industries in the state have to comply with the norms stipulated by the Supreme Court. The PCB will initiate steps against the units which fail to comply with the notification after May 22. Power and water supply will be disconnected and the units will not be allowed to function.

The notification published in Monday’s newspapers says that all industrial firms which function  as per the Air and Water Act, be it a printing press or a  medical equipment company, should consider it as a binding notice. PCB chairman K. Sajeevan told DC that the notification was published in the media as it was  not practical to serve individual notice to all the units. However, the board has no detailed database on the priority firms like chemical industries which will be badly hit by the order.

“Since the apex court has directed the civic bodies in all states to set up zero liquid discharge plants, their assistance will also be sought in enforcing the court verdict. If any civic body is planning to set up common effluent treatment plant for treating industrial units, they will be given three years’ time for the same. The local bodies should submit the proposals before the May 22 deadline,” he said. As per the Supreme Court directive, it is the civic bodies’ responsibility to ensure that all commercial firms in the area have proper effluent treatment facility. A Bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and justices D.Y. Chandrachud and S.K. Kaul had on February 22 directed that the industrial units should  resume their function only after they make their effluent treatments plants functional.