In a big relief to chemical units located in Ankleshwar industrial area, the Gujarat High Court has recently granted an extension of a month to the Final Effluent Treatment Plant (FETP) to bring water pollution under the prescribed limits.
In an interim order issued last week by a bench comprising Chief Justice of S J Mukhopadhyay and Justice J B Pardiwala had granted one month's extension to the FETP run by Bharuch Eco Aqua Infrastructure Limited (BEAIL), which is now Narmada Clean Tech Limited (NCTL) for ensuring the water discharge at the plant to meet the standards prescribed for the wastewater discharge by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB). The deadline has been revised from the earlier June 23 to August 8, 2011 now.
"The pollution levels have significantly come down. We have taken many steps to bring down the pollution levels. We do not have any cross argument to the GPCB. The extension of deadline has come as a temporary relief for the company," told a senior officer from BEAIL. The company has chalked out plans to make additional investment of around Rs 2 crore to meet the prescribed norms.
In May this year, the villagers of Piraman in Ankleshwar district had filed a public interest litigation against the FETP for causing noise, air and water pollution. The Gujarat High Court had given a deadline of June 23 to NCTL for bringing down the pollution levels at FETP to the legally permissible limits.
Meanwhile, central pollution control board (CPCB) and GPCB were asked to monitor the level of pollution at the FETP. Subsequently, the reports submitted by GPCB and CPCB showed improvement in the noise and air pollution levels at the FETP. However, they further noted that FETP was not complying the wastewater discharge norms. Hence, the court has extended the deadline by a month for the company to meet the desired norms.
Over 1000 chemical units supply wastewater to the FETP, which has a total capacity of 40 million litres per day (MLD). The effluents are treated and released in to the deep sea. Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) holds 51 per cent in BEAIL, while 17 per cent is held by local member industries and remaining is held by the Central government.