As many as 197 granite polishing units in Hunagund taluk are now facing the heat after the district administration decided to take legal action against them for causing pollution.
These units, most of them concentrated in the granite-heartland of Ilkal town, have been accused of dumping granite slabs in lakes, open fields and public areas. The district administration has decided to first issue notices to them. The issue was taken up after non-governmental organisations raised it.
Even the Lokayukta too has taken the matter seriously after activists complained of violation of environmental norms in disposing of waste.
According to official sources, the primary damage owing to unabated dumping of waste could be the possible threat of flood. “Three lakes in the taluk are now filled with this waste. They do not have more space to store water. During monsoon, there are possibilities of flood,” the sources said.
The sources said that the district administration had estimated Rs. 51 crore as the cost for removing the waste and directed the units to bear it and remove the waste.
The sources said that in the past, the district administration had warned the unit owners and given them adequate time to act. “We will not spare any unit. We will issue them the last warning. If they failed to comply with it, we will disconnect the electricity supply within a couple of days,” the sources added.
Vijayapura district administration has decided to take legal action against them
They have been accused of dumping granite slabs in lakes, open fields and public areas
Vijayapura district administration has decided to take legal action against them
