Ganga pollution: NGT asks industries why they shouldn’t be shut

The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday issued show-cause notice to industries located on the stretch from Haridwar to Kanpur asking why they should not be shut down for polluting river Ganga.

The green panel also directed industries like tannery paper and pulp, textile, slaughter houses etc to clear their stand on attainment of zero liquid discharge, installation of online monitoring systems, current status of these units and asked what steps they have taken till now to control pollution resulting from their activities. “Is there any single industry which is polluting according to you (industries)? In the last two years, we have not heard so from you people, still the pollution exists. You say your units do not cause pollution but have you ever got your trade effluent analysed? 

“If pollution is there why shall we not shut these industries. Tell us why we should not close down industries which are running without consent from the pollution board,” a Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.

The Tribunal ordered Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to put on its website the list of 1,070 seriously polluting units and also the Environment Ministry to clarify the process of identifying seriously and grossly polluting industrial units in public domain.

During the proceedings, the counsel for slaughter houses contended that they were not discharging anything into the river and in fact irrigating fields from their used water.

To this the tribunal said, “What happens when you irrigate the land from your water? Do you even know what kind of effluents you are releasing into the underground water? You are causing water pollution directly.”