“The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has hired an independent agency to conduct a fresh study on all regions like Haldia and Durgapur where moratorium was imposed. The report is expected to come on March 15. A decision to withdraw the ban can be taken only after that if Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) improves,” P B Rastogi, director, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) said on the sidelines of an Indian Foundry Congress here.
Any industrial region measuring above 70 on CEPI is considered highly polluting leading to moratorium on environment clearance. CPCB had imposed a ban on new industrial units in 84 industrial regions across the country on January 2010 on this ground.
“Moratorium has been lifted in several regions after improvement in CEPI measurement. Now, decision is pending in about 26 regions,” Rastogi said.
Incidentally, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly appealed to the Centre to lift the ban on industry in Haldia and Asansol. Banerjee even accused the Centre of blocking Haldia's industrial expansion by clamping a ban on industries on environmental grounds.
West Bengal environment minister Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar too had written to union minister of environment and forest Jayanthi Natarajan on this matter.
