As directed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a three-member monitoring team inspected a Common Effluent Treatment Plant at Murugampalayam in Tirupur knitwear cluster to ascertain whether the zero liquid discharge (ZLD) norms were followed during the dyeing effluent treatment process.
The report on the inspection of the CETP held on Saturday and Sunday would be submitted to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board head office soon.
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board sources told The Hindu that the NGT direction to inspect the facility came while disposing of a petition filed by one of the member units of Murugampalayam CETP itself which alleged that zero liquid discharge norms as stipulated by the Madras High Court in the effluent treatment, was not strictly followed at the CETP.
“The NGT has asked the same monitoring committee, which was originally constituted by the Madras High Court, to examine whether the court orders pertaining to ZLD norms were implemented in Tirupur knitwear cluster, to look into the new complaint connected to the Murugampalayam CETP too.
“Based on that, Advocates Mohan and Thangavel and technocrat Kuttiappan, who are the members of the monitoring committee, came to Tirupur for the said inspection and evaluated whether any shortcomings were there”, senior Board officials explained.
While ordering closure of all dyeing and bleaching units in Tirupur cluster in 2011, the Madras High Court had stipulated that units could function again only under the condition that no effluent was discharged in the dyeing process.
