P. Sankaranarayanan, an engineer and activist, has petitioned the Union Textiles Ministry against the recent sanctioning of Rs. 200 crore ‘interest free convertible loan’ to 18 Common Effluent Treatment Plants here.
He said that contempt of court proceedings would be initiated against authorities concerned if the amount was disbursed.
“The Supreme Court had already observed that polluters must pay while hearing a case against dyeing units that caused pollution. The court had come down heavily on Tirupur dyers for polluting River Noyyal,” said Mr. Sankaranarayanan.
The Union Government, a few days back, had sanctioned Rs. 200 crore as ‘interest free loan’ which could be converted into ‘grant’ if the treatment plants were able to achieve 100 per cent adherence to ‘zero liquid discharge’ norms stipulated by Madras High Court within 10 months.
If any of the treatment plants could not attain the stipulated criteria within the time frame, the assistance would remain as ‘interest free loan.’
The distribution of the amount to various treatment plants would be based on their capacity.
Mr. Sankaranarayan said that under the ‘polluters pay’ principle, the government cannot meet the costs using tax payers’ money for pollution caused by private parties.
