It isnt pollution, its discrimination

HYDERABAD: In the wake of the AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB)'s closure notices to 15 industries for polluting the Hussainsagar, some industrialists have alleged that the PCB is targeting only small industries and forcing them to be part of the Ramky Solid Waste Management for which the membership is about Rs  lakh. "Most of these industrial units are electroplating industries which are releasing toxins containing chromium and other heavy metals into the lake.Samples collected from Fatehnagar Nala matched with the effluents released by the industries around.These industries use solutions of various metals for electroplating and later dispose the acidic waste into nearby water bodies," WG Prasanna Kumar, spokesperson of the PCB, told City Express.The industrialists, however, have a different take on the issue."I have been operating my unit here for the last 20 years and had never faced any problem.But for the past two-three years, the PCB has been creating problems only for small-scale industries," said Nilesh Kumar Jain who runs the Rishabh Resins and Chemicals.He further added that the PCB had not given them prior warning. Sambasiva Rao of Vijeta Alloy Castings said the PCB had slapped a notice on him for not obtaining required certificates from it."Awareness must be created among small-scale industries about such rules.Suddenly, if they ask us to shut down our units, where will the employees go?," he questioned.Anil Dayakar, an environmental activist and founder of 'Gamana' NGO, pointed out: "These small-scale industries have no place to dump their waste.They will inevitably release it in the nearest waterbody.Issuing closure notices will not help." Anil feels that a solution can be worked out if the PCB helps the small-scale units set up an effluent treatment facility or if the industries themselves organise a cooperative body to set up a treatment facility. The water thus treated can be reused for other purposes such as fountains in parks, he said and and added that there used to be a treatment facility in Jeedimetla earlier which is non-functional at present. Asked about the allegations against the PCB by the industrialists, Rajsekhar, senior environmental engineer, APPCB, refused comment.He merely said the board had acted on complaints received from several quarters including NGOs, HUDA and the media about the pollution of the lake