CAG slams govt for failure to complete Bantala plant

“The project failed to achieve its stated objective of ensuring safe disposal of industrial effluents and solid waste from tanneries,causing immense damage to the environment. The project remained incomplete even after more than 12 years of the original scheduled date of the completion,” the audit report for 2010-11 has stated. The report has also recommended the Ministry of Environment and Forest may monitor the execution of the project and ensure a speedy and time-bound completion.

Some of the findings of the report:
* The delay: In 1995,the Supreme Court in a public interest litigation case had ordered to shift 538 tanneries located in three clusters of the city generating 30 million litres per day (mld) of effluents from the city to a leather complex and provide a common effluent treatment plant to treat the effluent generated from the proposed leather complex. So the state government decided to relocate the tanneries at Calcutta Leather Complex (CLC) at Bantala,about 20 km south-east of Kolkata. It was decided to complete the project by November 1997. Later,seven more components were added to the project. “However as of February 2010,the Common Chrome Recovery System,Safe Solid Waste Disposal System and Treated Effluent Sump and Pumping Station are yet to be completed even 15 years after the decision of Supreme Court,” the report points out. The report further says that even after delay of more than 12 years the NCRD could sanction only four of the seven components under the project and it remained incomplete as on June 2010.

* Environment hazards:
1. As per the assessment of Central Pollution Control Board,the two fixed chromium recovery units were not in use and the total chromium concentration of about 25 mg per kg of the effluent treatment plant of the sludge was a matter of serious concern and also the performance of the CETP is not proper.
2. According to the Environment Ministry and Forest Regional Office in Bhubhaneshwar,saving dusts (end cuts of finished leather products),fresh lining and trimmings were seen dumped on the roadside. Since these things contain chromium,their dumping would pollute the surface water.
3. Solid wastes bearing chromium residue and sludge might also contaminate the ground water.
4. The environment impact assessment showed that tanneries released effluents in the open outside their boundary instead of discharging them in the drains set up for the purpose
5. The analysis had revealed that that the levels of Total Suspended Solid (TSS),Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD),Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Hexavalent Chromium ¿ recognised as human carcinogen ¿ and overall chromium were higher than the prescribed limits and were in gross violation of the norms.
6. The NCRD blames tanneries and state government for improper maintenance of equipments and lack of initiative.
7. NCRD has also pointed that the tanneries have not employed adequately qualified technical persons.
8. In May 2008,NCRD requested state government to follow up with the agencies concerned so that the performance of CLC could be improved and all mandatory environmental norms could be complied with. However,the government was yet to intimate about the follow up actions.