The State Pollution Control Board (PCB) has requested the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to provide more time to carry out further sampling and analysis of the heavy metal contamination in Edayattuchal and Chakkarachal paddy fields at Edayar.
The board has sought time in its latest report on the restoration of the polluted agricultural land submitted to the Southern Bench of the tribunal, indicating that the rejuvenation of the polluted paddy fields would be delayed further.
It has been nearly 17 years since the Local Area Environment Committee for the Eloor-Edayar area appointed by the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Waste held the industrial units working in Edayar responsible for the heavy metal contamination of soil and groundwater.
The Chief Environmental Engineer of the board in Ernakulam said in the report submitted before the tribunal on July 21 that the joint committee appointed by the court had visited the contaminated sites on June 24. It was not possible to access the Edayattuchal and Chakkarachal areas due to waterlogging. Higher levels of heavy metal zinc were mostly found at the time of the preparation of the detailed project report, it said.
The board has sought additional time by reiterating its earlier position that changes may have occurred in the concentration of various parameters in the soil and groundwater, especially after the massive floods in 2018 and 2019.
On the delayed process to recover about ₹47.88 crore (cost of remediation) from the now defunct Edayar Zinc Ltd. (formerly Binani Zinc Ltd), the board has only repeated its earlier statement that steps were initiated to recover the amount through revenue recovery proceedings.
However, the Department of Environment is yet to include the board in the online revenue recovery portal to recover the cost. The company authorities had earlier requested the court to fix the liability only on the basis of proper evidence, as they were not the only industry functioning in the area.
