Pollution board seals 30 bleaching units in Panipat

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has sealed 30 illegal bleaching houses and recommended closure action against two units operational in the district. The Haryana Water Resource Authority (HWRA) also sealed their borewell connections.

This was revealed in a reply submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) by the Regional Officer (RO) of the board on Thursday.

The NGT had taken suo motu cognisance of a news report, “Panipat’s illegal bleaching units pollute land, waterways", published in 'The Tribune'.

The Principal Bench of the NGT, headed by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, served a notice on the HSPCB, HWRA, and the Panipat DC, and directed them to file their replies through affidavits.

The NGT, in its order on May 23, highlighted that the illegal bleaching units in Panipat were posing a serious threat to the environment. Most of the units are set up on agricultural land in several villages of the district.

Following the NGT’s order, Bhupender Singh Chahal, RO, along with his team, identified the units and initiated action against them.

During the survey, 31 units were found engaged in textile/dyeing and bleaching (red category), while one unit was found engaged in recycling of plastic waste (orange category). It was revealed that all these units had been running without a valid consent to operate (CTO) and consent to establishment (CTE).

It was also revealed that all these units were extracting groundwater without valid consent from the HWRA, which has sealed their borewell connections.