SC ORDERS DISCONNECTION OF POWER TO POLLUTING UNITS

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered disconnection of power supply to polluting industrial units if they do not fix their effluent treatment plants within three months.

The direction was a part of slew of measures a bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar issued to curb discharge of untreated domestic and industrial sewage into the river bodies.

The order came on a four-yearold petition that was filed before the top court complaining against the increase in pollution levels of water-bodies and underground water in Gujarat. The scope of the petition was later expanded.

The court said the state pollution control boards (SPCB) shall issue a notice to all industrial units by way of a common advertisement, requiring them to make the treatment plants operational. The law mandates a functional effluent treatment plants before consent can be given to operate the industry.

“Those who have not made the effluent treatment plants functional shall be restrained from further industrial activity,” the bench said. Power supply and distribution companies have been ordered to disconnect as soon as it receives a representation from the pollution board.

The order also includes a direction to the states and municipal authorities to devise norms by March 31 to raise funds for repairing dysfunctional centralized effluent treatment plants . It was noted that most of them are non-operative due to lack of funds.

The bench said the local bodies cannot shy away from their responsibility. It allowed them to evolve norms to recover the funds by levying user charges on domestic and industrial consumers.

THE ORDER CAME ON A FOURYEAROLD PETITION COMPLAINING AGAINST THE INCREASE IN POLLUTION LEVELS OF WATERBODIES IN GUJARAT