The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has issued closure intention notices to nearly 30 units in the Edayar industrial region here for their failure to seek consent to operate from the board.
A survey by the board had revealed in March that around 55 small and medium-scale units were functioning without the mandatory consent-to-operate certificate issued by the government agency. The Environment Surveillance Centre of the board in Eloor had issued show-cause notices on the erring units as a preliminary step, asking the managements why action should not be taken as per environmental laws.
Of the 55 units, the managements of 25 units submitted the applicaton for consent to operate. The closure intention notice slapped on 30 units is the official step taken before issuing the closure directive.
Senior board officials said the majority of the 30 units comprised small-scale industrial units. Most of these units were functioning for long without applying for the consent-to-operate certificate from the board.
The lack of compliance had often helped these units escape the eyes of law, especially in cases related to the illegal discharge of effluents into the drains along the industrial area. Some of the units were functioning without applying for the consent to operate for more than 10 years, they said.
The board’s action came after the National Green Tribunal pulled up the government and the agency for not taking proper action as per the rules against industrial units responsible for the pollution of the Periyar. The State Level Monitoring Committee on Solid Waste Management appointed by the tribunal had also found that the unscientific effluent treatment methods in the erring units had affected the natural ecology of the river.
