19 sites for polluting industries

As many as 1,160 polluting industries will be shifted out of Hyderabad city. The Telangana State Pollution Control Board has identified 1,545 industries, of which 385 are already located outside Outer Ring Road, minister K.T. Rama Rao told the Legislative Council on Tuesday.

“Only 1,160 units need to be shifted of which 803 are in the red and 357 in the orange category, he told Legislative Council members Karne Prabhakar and Poola Ravinder.

The red category includes hazardous chemicals, automobile manufacturing, recycling hazardous waste, lubricating oils etc while orange category units are like bakery and confectionery units with ovens, coated electrode manufacturing etc, food and food processing etc.

The units are proposed to be shifted out as per GO MS No 20 dated March 1, 2013.

A feasibility study for relocating the polluting industries outside ORR as per the guidelines of TSPCB etc has been entrusted to Environmental Protection Training Research Institute, he said.

He said 19 land parcels had been identified for relocating red and orange category industries outside the ORR. The EPTRI would suggest suitable sites, he said.

To another question, he said the HMDA had prepared a detailed project report on modernisation of the Musi river, which was under consideration. The government would send a proposal to the Centre for funding under the National River Conservation Plan.

The project included river cleaning, bank stabilisation, development of bicycle tracks, jogging tracks, city level civic amenities, Knowledge Park, eco tourism, games and recreational facilities, water pools with rubber dams, road connectivity, construction of bridges, sewerage system for diversion of dry weather flows to a centralised Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and reduction of water pollution.