As part of meeting the statutory environmental standards, more than 180 dyes and intermediates manufacturers in Gujarat have kicked-off upgradation of their effluent treatment plants involving investments in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 2 crore per unit.
According to the information provided by the Gujarat Dyestuff Manufacturers' Association (GDMA), the state's dyes and intermediate manufacturing units will meet the regulatory requirements laid out by the state pollution regulatory body-Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB)-over next couple of months.
"In the wake of rising concerns about pollution in the industrial areas of the state, as many as 378 units have been identified by the GPCB that require an upgradation of effluent treatment plants (ETP). Over 50 per cent of them are dyes and intermediate units.
Many units have started the upgradation process and all units are expected to meet the regulatory requirements of ETP by end-February," said Shankarlal Patel, president, GDMA.
The upgradation will cost anywhere between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 2 crore per unit depending on the plant capacity, he added. Vatva Industrial estate plans to invest Rs 70 crore for Green Environment Services Co-operative Society Limited (GESCSL), a co-operative society set up in collaboration with GDMA to look into environment related issues. Vatva Industrial Estate houses 1,800 units including pharmaceutical, dyes, dye-intermediates, pigments, fine chemicals and other organics.
The Rs 27,000 crore dyestuff industry in India is growing at a robust growth of 10-12 per cent. Gujarat produces dyestuff amounting to 1.5 lakh tonnes and has posted a growth of 11 per cent over the last year.
Recently, the demand for reactive dyes, which are mainly used in the textiles industry, has fallen significantly due to a sharp rise in cotton prices over past few months. Industry experts believed that the drop in the demand for reactive dyes has been significant. Gujarat produces around 50,000 tonnes of reactive dyes per annum.
Patel informed that the demand for reactive dyes had fallen by around 15-20 per cent over past few months. But with improved outlook for cotton crop this year, the demand from textile sector is expected to rise, which may push up the entire value chain in textile industry.
