Meat units in court for being health hazards

Highlighting the pitiable condition of the villagers, the principal of Government Senior Secondary School in Samgoli, Mohali, submitted medical reports prepared by various doctors to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice Jasbir Singh took a strong note of the observations made by the doctors.

The reports were filed against two meat-processing units 8212; M K Overseas and Abbott Cold Store Meat Plant 8212; located in Dera Bassi. These units have come under the court8217;s scanner for not maintaining effluent treatment plants ETP and adequate air pollution control devices. The doctors and the principal have sought immediate closure of the units. The villagers have also alleged that the Punjab Pollution Control Board PPCB is not taking any action against them. The Bench came down heavily on the PPCB for issuing no-objection certificates NOCs to such units.

8220;How are you issuing no-objection certificates and allowing electricity connections to these units without ensuring that they have installed effluent treatment plants. The PPCB has a very important role to play in protecting the environment. How did this unit get an electricity connection when it had not installed the treatment plant?8221; Thakur asked, referring to M K Overseas.

The Chief Justice emphasised the role of the PPCB, holding that before giving consent to any unit to set up or operate, it was its responsibility to ensure that adequate and effective pollution control devices had been installed by the unit.

He observed: 8220;Either PPCB officers are issuing NOCs due to extraneous reasons or they are doing so under duress or pressure.8221;

Explaining the problems faced by the PPCB, its counsel advocate A R Takkar submitted that it often happened that an industry changed its manufacturing process or technology later, in which case the PPCB was supposed to issue warning to the unit to update its pollution control devices. 8220;Unless there are specific parameters of stink added by the Legislature, the PPCB is unable to legally stop an industry, except when air pollutants, including obnoxious gases and suspended particulate matter, is beyond parameters,8221; he said.

The Chief Justice held that the board officer who visited an industry and submitted a report after inspecting it should be prosecuted if anything was found amiss with the unit.

The case has been adjourned to November 10, when the Bench will pass orders that would affect all the industries in Punjab.

The Bench will pass directions on the issue that only those industries should be given NOCs which have adequate and appropriate pollution control devices installed.