The pollution challenge

India needs to build state capacity at multiple levels

The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has ordered tanneries in Kanpur to shut down. In August, UPPCB had permitted 126 tanneries to run at 50 per cent capacity, provided they fulfilled the pollution norms. But, as reported by this newspaper, a report of the Ganga monitoring wing of the National Green Tribunal has said that effluents from tanneries, located in Kanpur’s Jajmau industrial area, were being released into the river. As a result, tanneries have now been ordered to remain closed until the end of this month. The estimated size of Kanpur’s leather industry is Rs 12,000 crore, 50