New TNPCB guidelines irk industries in Ambattur

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s drive to improve waste and sewage disposal in the Ambattur Industrial Estate has not gone well with unit holders.The TNPCB is cracking down on industries which do not have a proper method of industrial and hazardous waste disposal. There are allegations of garbage being dumped outside the factories and not inside the bins provided; some units burn their waste indiscriminately, either inside or outside their premises. Untreated sewage from some plants was being disposed through storm water drains.These issues were discussed in an interactive meeting conducted by the Chennai Auto Ancillary Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Company (CAAIIUC). The CAAIIUC operated sewage treatment plant (STP) that uses water from the entire industrial estate. Jayaraman, director of CAAIIUS, said treated water will be transported back in tankers to the industries, and could be used for gardening, cooling and toilet purposes. “We should reuse the water and be self-sufficient,” he said.In reply to a unit holder pointing out that sewage from Athipet and surrounding areas ran through the estate and overburdened their sewage line, Dilip Kambhat, Chairman of CAAIIUC, said, “We have been talking to the municipal office for the last two years since our plan cannot handle this. The proper line will be done in a year’s time.”Most unit holders were irked with the idea of transporting treated water back to their industries. One suggestion was that the CAAIIUC could start roadside and median gardens and the water should be used in cultivating these. Pradeep, another member, said, “There was a notification from the Tamil Nadu government in 1994 which exempted small units. This was revoked a few years ago. If the notification is brought back, around 75 per cent of the units will not be in violation of any code.” He added that the units had not been blatantly breaking regulations, but had been exempted.“This plan is bound to fail,” said a unit holder. “We need a change in the rule. There are practical difficulties arising from the fact that this is an old estate; we are not doing this from scratch. Please consider all these things before making the rules,” he said.