Will study financial feasibility first: Govt

When asked about the discharge of waste in these years,he said,“We will work out an interim solution.”

He said of the total pollution,80 per cent was domestic and 20 per cent industrial. And of the 20 per cent,19 per cent discharge was by textile units and rest was by electroplating units.

He said the problem of electroplating industry has been solved as the seven big units have installed individual treatment plants and use the treated water within the industry. “Hero Cycles is already doing it and others will also be motivated to follow suit,” he added. As for the 450 small electroplating units,with the help of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC),a common treatment plant has been set up. “Effluent is collected in a truck and transported to the treatment site. The PPCB has been told to conduct checks to curb cheating,as some industries dispatch less effluent to evade paying of charges and release rest untreated,” he said.

The PPCB apprised the Chief Secretary that electroplating units were not the major issue but textile units were. According to the NEERI recommendations,textile units should follow the procedure adopted by electroplating industry. However,industry representative SP Oswal said in the meeting that this would put an unbearable financial burden on the units. He suggested the industry should treat waste,bring it down to 30 BOD level and then discharge it into sewerage system to be treated with domestic refuse. However,technical experts said the treatment of industrial waste alongside would ruin the domestic plant.

Agarwal said it was then suggested that industrial waste should be taken through a separate pipe and also treated separately. “But this is an expensive proposition. It will require Rs 200 crore to lay the pipes and 600 crore for the treatment plants,” said the Chief Secretary.

When asked if government wanted to tweak the NEERI recommendations,he said,“We want to implement them in totality,but will have to first look into the financial aspects. Huge expenses are required to apply the NEERI recommendations.”

He said as per recommendations,large and medium units should install their plants,and small ones should be divided into clusters and offered a common treatment facility. “The isolated industry can be asked to relocate to the cluster,” he added.

He said the PPCB has been asked to study the technical feasibility and investment requirement in implementing the NEERI recommendations,and the whole process will take about three years. As for the domestic effluent,he said the three existing plants would be augmented with the funds provided under JNNURM.

Notably,the Punjab and Haryana High Court had given directions to the Punjab government to ensure that industries take effective steps for the treatment of effluent. Following directions of the court,the state government had directed the PPCB to draft a policy.

The board further engaged the NEERI for the task. The High Court had directed the PPCB that there should be zero discharge of treated or untreated effluent. Sources in PPCB told The Indian Express that large-scale dyeing units would have to go for zero discharge and that too after reverse osmosis (RO) technique. They said recommendations also state that the industry would have to keep a tab on inland water channel as well,and check contamination of underground water.