Most polluted tag hits Ankleshwar units hard

Representatives from the Industry associations met officials from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to assure them that within one year both talukas in the heart of India’s chemical corridor will be free from pollution. Elsewhere,officials from GPCB or CPCB claim to have no idea of the meeting. “I have no idea about any such meeting that might have taken between the industry owners and GPCB in the last two days,” said GPCB Chairman K U Mistry. GPCB Regional Officer,Bharuch,M S Shukla said he was not called for any such meeting that possibly took place between the industry owners.

B S Patel,president of Panoli Industries Association said a new air quality monitoring system will be set up in the premises of Panoli Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). Special roads will be built along Van Khadi to keep a check on the release of effluents. “We are starting a task force consisting of industry owners who will monitor the industries here for pollution,” said Patel.

He said several foreign industries that were supposed to set up plants in Panoli have withdrawn after Ankleshwar was deemed critically-polluted. “Some of the industries running on a trial basis for the past two years here have been given closure notices,” he said.

Prabodh Patel,president of Ankleshwar Industries Association said,it was mutually decided in the meeting that a private company will monitor and study the pollution in Ankleshwar.

“We have resolved that in one year’s time,MoEF will remove the critically-polluted tag,” said Patel.

On being told about the rampant dumping of waste in Amla Khadi,a stormwater drain which over the years has become a channel for effluent reportedly due to leakages in the pipelines,Patel said effluent was not being discharged in the channel for the last eight months.

“We are improving the drainage system and have fixed all the leakages in the pipelines,” he said.

GPCB Member Secretary R G Shah said: “After monitoring the specific units which were discharging large amount of effluents or polluting air,we found that some of these units could start functioning on a trial basis. But,there is no blanket lifting of the critically-polluted taluka tag or any permission to expand the industrial areas at the moment,” the official added.