TN Pollution Control Board wants 154 illegal units polluting Cauvery shut

CHENNAI: A total of 154 unauthorised industrial units that do not have Consent To Operate from Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) at Pallipalayam in Namakkal district are polluting the Cauvery and should be closed immediately, a report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has said.

The CPCB, whose survey in March found discharge of industrial effluents is polluting the Cauvery, has directed TNPCB to come up with an action plan for ensuring proper treatment and disposal of sewage, industrial effluents, plastic and municipal solid waste generated from villages and towns along the banks of the Cauvery and Kalingarayan Canal by July 20. It has directed that action be taken to close all unauthorised industrial units immediately.

The directions were issued under Section 18 (1) (b) of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 over the treatment of sewage and industrial effluents and disposal in Cauvery and Kalingarayan Canal in Erode and Namakkal districts.

The to close down 154 unauthorised industrial units that do not have Consent To Operate from Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) comes in the wake of CPCB carrying out assessments of the Cauvery and Kalingarayan Canal in Erode and Namakkal districts and drains arising from Erode city, namely Nochipallam Odai, Sunnambu Odai, Pichaikaran Odai, Perumpallam Odai and Konna Vaikal Odai, which are carrying sewage and industrial effluent discharge into the river.

The CPCB study found that samples from Vendipalayam Barrage near Erode revealed that fecal Coliform exceeds the permissible limit of 500 most probable number (MNP) per 100/ml and the dissolved oxygen is less than the criteria limit of 5mg/l at Perundurai Sipcot water intake.

The CPCB report also states that municipal solid waste from Erode city is being dumped on the banks of river Cauvery at Vyrapallayam, which is one of the continuous sources of pollution to Cauvery.CPCB has directed TNPCB to make it mandatory for all local or urban bodies to set up sewage treatment plants of adequate capacity with requisite treatment facilities, to provide underground sewerage system to cover entire local or urban areas and also to bridge the treatment gap along with enforcement of consent management in line with standards for sewage treatment notified under Environment (Protection) Act 1986.

It has also directed Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to carry out inventory of commercial or industrial activities and to quantify the effluents discharged into the Cauvery and Kalingarayan Canal in Erode and Nammakal within three months.