Punjab shuts down Malbros liquor unit 6 months after CM announced decision

The order, passed on Tuesday, came in the wake of reports of samples of water and soil being taken from 28 tube wells of the factory. “The observations of the Board coupled with the inferences drawn in the water and sludge chemical report by the expert committees does not make a case in favour of the industry for operation of the unit. The examination of the case reveals that the industry is still lacking in compliance of at least six consent conditions, which are very important in nature and cannot be ignored in a causal manner. These conditions have been consciously imposed by the Board to regulate the operation of the large-scale red-category unit,” the order read.

The order stated that the board’s observations in reference to the compliance report were sufficient to decline the consent-to-operate application of Malbros International Private Limited. “Hence, the application of the industry for obtaining the consent to operate of the Board under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, is hereby refused,” it further said.

The order stated that the water soil sludge was found damaging to the environment. Though heavy metals normally occur in nature and are essential to life, they become toxic through accumulation in organisms. Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead and mercury, the accumulation of which has been shown in the report, are the most common heavy metals that can pollute the environment. Excessive accumulation of these heavy metals in underground water can disturb the fine balance of the environment, the order said.

The disturbance has therefore to be stopped at an early stage, the order said, adding that the accumulation of the heavy metals in underground water could logically be attributed to the liquor factory in view of the reports of the expert committee and in the absence of any other realistic reason.

A soil and crop damage committee with experts including Dr P P S Pannu, Dr Dharminder Singh, Dr Kuldip Singh, Dr A S Toor and Dr J P Singh stated that soil pH was relatively higher in the affected villages. The soil pH of about 40 per cent of the selected sites in the affected villages was alkaline, the panel said in its report to the Firozpur deputy commissioner.

In the sugar mill area behind the factory, the vegetation is almost dead. Fertility parameters such as organic carbon and available nutrients such as phosphorus, copper, zinc, manganese are extremely high. Soil inside the factory has high pH, electrical conductivity and available potassium, the report added.

In the sludge samples, there was a gradual increase in the concentration of heavy metals such as chromium, lead, nickel and arsenic up to 180 cm depth. Substantially higher concentration of all micronutrients and heavy metals were observed at 150-180 cm depth. This suggests a possibly downward movement of these metals, which may end up entering groundwater, according to the report.

The board had given two hearings to the factory management.

For over a year now, the board had not given annual clearance for the factory. The factory’s owners questioned the board in the high court, which directed the board to issue a speaking order. With reports from the Central Pollution Control Board, the state board was able to pinpoint the issues to the factory.

The factory submitted that it had been engaged in the distillation of spirits since 2007, had invested Rs 300 crore and gave jobs for 1,200 workers from nearby villages. It also said the unit was equipped with all technology to handle the discharge.