‘Negligence of MPM management responsible for closure’

CPCB had issued notices to it to address the problem

The main entrance of the Mysore Paper Mills in Bhadravati of Shimoga district.

S. Dattatri, president of the district of Bharatiya Janata Party, has said that the alleged negligent attitude of the management of Mysore Paper Mills (MPM), a public sector undertaking at Bhadravati, to abide by the laws related to pollution was responsible for the closure of the paper mills.

Although the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had issued several notices to the MPM for violation of laws on prevention of pollution, senior officials of the firm had failed to take appropriate action in this regard.

The closure of MPM had created a sense of insecurity among its workers and farmers living in the vicinity, he said while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday.

Senior officials of the CPCB, who had visited the MPM, had pointed out the non-compliance with the prescribed emission standards in coal-fired boilers. The CPCB had directed the authorities concerned to install the new electrostatic precipitators (ESP) to address the problem.

Lacunae noticed

The CPCB had noticed that the existing flow meter at the inlet and outlet of effluent treatment plant had become non-functional. Besides, the CPCB had directed the officials to provide impervious lining in lagoons for the storage of causticising sludge, install and commission the lime kiln unit, construct stormwater drainage system in the fly ash loading area and install adequate dust suppression system and wind barriers for the coal handling area.

The MPM management had failed to follow these instructions.

During a recent visit of the CPCB team to MPM, its senior officials had failed to apprise the team members of the steps that would be taken to address these issues. This led to the closure of the firm, he said.

According to an estimate, about Rs. 15 crore was needed to abide by the guidelines issued by CPCB. The State government should release the amount at the earliest, he said.

The State-owned firm was incurring loss for the past few years. Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Rathnakar, who is also in-charge Minister of the district, had failed to apprise the State government of the measures to be initiated to bring back the firm on the path of profit,” he said. Ex-MLA Belur Gopalakrishna, functionaries of BJP N.J. Rajashekhar and Bilaki Krishnamurthy were present.