Breather to the industry in mixed land use area : The Tribune India

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Breather to the industry in mixed land use area

The PPCB has given consent to run units in the mixed land use till 2023, which is a big relief to industry. A file photo

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 22

Those running their units in the mixed land use areas got a breather as the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has agreed to give consent to continue these units till 2023. A delegation of industrialists met PPCB Chairman Kahan Singh Pannu here on Saturday evening. They said though that was not a permanent solution, it will give much needed relief to around 500 units.

The CEO of Ludhiana Effluent Treatment Society, Narinder Bhamra, told The Tribune that the previous government had given consent for running these units for 15 years. But with the Congress coming to power in the state, there was confusion whether the government would extend the consent period after the expiry of 10 years or not. “The 10-year deadline is August 1, 2018, which is fast approaching. But now, another five years have been given to the industry. Many representations were made on this specific issue to the authorities in recent times,” said Bhamra.

The industrialists have also requested the PPCB chief to provide a solution to small units, which have installed billet heaters and are paying hefty charges to the PSPCL. “Small units consuming power below 500 Kw should not be considered as Power Intensive Units. We have asked the PPCB chief to take up the matter with the PSPCL. We are ready to curb pollution, as such billet heaters with the latest technology have been installed in forging units. But at the same time, we should not be burdened with hefty power bills. The government should encourage and motivate us for adopting new technologies to curb pollution levels,” said Bhamra.

Another industrialist urged the PPCB chief to ask officials to encourage the voluntary disclosure scheme on treatment of waste water. “We agree some units are not treating water because of departmental harassment and for other reasons. We should not be intimidated with hefty penalties as many units have still not started treating water. Instead, the industry should be encouraged to do the needful without creating panic of hefty penalties,” said the industrialist.