Members of Perundurai SIPCOT Affected People Welfare Association have urged the State government to establish a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) at Perundurai SIPCOT and reuse the treated water for industrial purposes.
A petition was submitted by the association coordinator S. Chinnasamy to Minister for Environment and Climate Change Siva V. Meyyanathan and Minister for Housing and Urban Development S. Muthusamy during their visit to the industrial estate on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. The petition said that the industries on SIPCOT premises polluted land, water and air, thereby affecting residents of many villages in the area. Based on complaints lodged to the district administration and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), various teams inspected the factories. But the reports were not made public. The National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad was appointed to study the pollution of groundwater in the area, the petition said and wanted necessary action taken based on the report.
The petition claimed that effluents discharged by the industries into Nalla canal entered Punjai Palatholuvu lake that spread across 400 acre. “The discharge must be stopped immediately and steps should be taken on a war-footing to establish a CETP at Sipcot,” the petition said. The petition also wanted the contaminated water in borewells to be processed and used for industrial purposes, until which supply of Cauvery river water should be stopped.
The other demands were disposing of 75,000 tonnes of sludge dumped on the premises; ban on use of coal as fuel in industries; use of corporate social responsibility funds of the industries to provide basic amenities to affected people.
The Ministers told the association members that steps were taken to establish a CETP on the premises with a capacity to process 20 lakh litres at a cost of ₹40 crore.
