26 Baddi-Barotiwala units face power disconnection

Ambika Sharma

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Solan, July 8

Taking a stern view of industrial units failing to send effluents to the Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) for the scientific disposal of the same, the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) has ordered the disconnection of power supply to 26 erring units in the Baddi-Barotiwala (BB) industrial area.

Terming it as a violation of Section 33 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the board officials have directed the units not to use diesel-run generator sets or any other source of energy.

A non-compliance of the directions issued by the board would invite a penalty of Rs 10,000, besides up to seven years of imprisonment.

The action on a big scale comes at a time when the quality of water in the BB industrial belt’s water bodies has failed to show improvement. It is feared that the erring industrial units discharge their industrial waste surreptitiously into the water bodies.

Chief Engineer, SPCB, Baddi, Praveen Gupta, said the mischief came to fore when officials sought a list from the plant management of industries not sending their effluents to the CEPT.

After the CEPT management provided a list of 69 such units, a field inspection revealed that 26 of them were disobeying the terms of the agreement. It was also found that nine units had recently started sending their effluents to the treatment plant.

While 20 industries had closed their operations, 13 had switched to zero-liquid discharge and one unit had changed its location and was yet to assume operation at the new site.

The remaining 26 units were not sending the effluents to the Common Effluent Treatment Plant for the past six months despite having an agreement to send the same to the CETP.

It was surprising to note that despite signing agreements with the CETP management these units failed to abide by the terms and conditions.

The erring units are Dagon Pharmaceuticals, Manpura; Asian Pharma, Baddi; Ind Swift Limited, Mallkumajra; YL Pharma, Katha; Win Cure Pharma, Baddi; Alive Health Care, Baddi; AK Enterprises, Malkumajra; Aeromech Wonders, Bhuranwala; Affy Patenterals, Gullerwala; Agricides India, Baddi; Alkon Formulation, Jharmajri; Balaji Trading Company, Surajmajram Dhattarwal Industries, Baddi; Euphoria India Pharmaceuticals, Baddi; Greef Formulations, Barotiwala; Medwor Pharma, Thana; Verax Lifesciences, Baddi; Sunshine Industries, Baddi; Shri Sai Balaji Pharma, Baddi; Shri Ramesth Industry, Barotiwala; Shri Ram International, Baddi; Shivani Formulation, Gullerwala; Real Scrap Enterprises, Bhud; Newedge Research and Development, Judikalan; and Rudra Trader, Bhud.