Bengaluru: Notices and cases have been issued and filed by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) against 331 industries, establishments, apartments and utilities for not adhering to the set norms of sewage and effluents treatment.
The KSPCB had inspected 5,656 plants for compliance over the past six months based on an order given by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in August 2018, following a Supreme Court order on monitoring sewage or effluent treatment plants in Karnataka.
The Board has also given the green signal to prepare a penalty formula under the ‘polluter pays’ principle for the non-compliant establishments which will then be forwarded to the State government for approval. The minimum suggested penalty is ?5,000 for every day of non-compliance. In the meanwhile, they will continue to monitor compliance.
As per the officials, 44 officers were asked to submit a report after a thorough inspection of every plant. Based on this report, submitted to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 3,265 industries should have had Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) as per the approvals and 203 industries had not built the ETPs. Another 68 ETPs were not compliant with the norms. Of the 2,586 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), 59 were non-compliant and one of the eight Common Effluent Treatment Plants (set up for industrial clusters) was non-compliant.
“Sending notices ensures that STPs are taken care of. The problem is with ETPs in industries, especially smaller industries, said an official with the KSPCB, adding that they send several notices to non-compliant establishment every day.
KSPCB has, so far, sent show cause notices in 253 cases, closure notices in 68 and initiated legal action in 10 cases, as per a report submitted to the CPCB monitoring committee in April.
