GUWAHATI, June 3 - The Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA) has slapped show-cause notices to some 1,200 industries in the State which are operating without primary effluent treatment plants.
The PCBA regional office had carried out an inventorization of industries which are operating without functional primary effluent treatment plants. �These 1200 units were operating without effluent treatment plants in spite of sufficient time having been given to them, thereby violating the Board�s directions as well as the Supreme Court�s order,� PCBA member secretary DN Das told this newspaper.
In two public notices issued on April 12, 2017 and August 9, 2017, the PCBA had directed all industrial units discharging effluents to install primary treatment plants and make them functional that year itself.
In the show-cause notices, the PCBA charged the units of violating the provisions of law in force, causing pollution to the environment.
�The units have been directed to file objection if any within fifteen days from the date of issue of the show-cause letters. Else, the PCBA will be forced to disconnect electricity and other essential services to the units,� the official said.
PCBA teams have also begun an exercise to make an on-spot verification of the pollution control measures in these units.
The show-cause notices were slapped after the PCBA served closure notice to around 850 such violators in the State.
Those who got the closure notices a month back includes defaulting industries, hotels, lodges and over 100 heath care units which have failed to meet the prescribed norms for removing the pollutants from the effluent before it is discharged. Most of them did not respond to the show-cause notice.
These industries were served show-cause notices last year.
PCBA officials say the problem is more in the unorganized sector.
In the judgement on a petition filed by Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, the apex court had in 2017 directed industrial units across the country to set up effluent treatment plants within three months.
The court said industrial units without functional primary effluent treatment plants will not be allowed to run after the stipulated time. The court also directed states to build common effluent treatment plants within three years.
Civic bodies in states were directed to set up zero liquid discharge plants and include real-time monitoring of waste treatment within six months from then.
