23 polluting units gets PCB notice in Dhanbad, Bokaro
All these units have been asked to report to the pollution control board on steps taken regarding the implementation of ‘zero’ discharge of effluents
DHANBAD: The Jharkhand state pollution control board (JSPCB) has served notices to 23 industrial units, including those in power and dairy production, for polluting the Damodar in Dhanbad and Bokaro districts.
Washeries and fermenting units are also among these polluting units, a JSPCB officer said, adding that the notices were issued last month.
In the power sector, the Tenughat thermal plant, the Chandrapura thermal plant, the Maithon Power Limited, all washeries of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) were found dumping effluents into the river, JSPCB regional officer RB Singh told Hindustan Times.
Singh said all these units have been asked to report to the Board on steps taken regarding the implementation of ‘zero’ liquid discharge of effluents in rivers, as directed by the Centre for ensuring pollution-free rivers.
The units have also been directed to attend a meeting on April 20 to discuss the ‘zero’ liquid discharge policy, the pollution control officer said.
As per the ‘zero’ liquid discharge policy, advanced wastewater treatment technologies are to be used for purifying and recycling virtually all of the wastewater produced by an industrial unit.
To facilitate the monitoring of polluting units, the PCB along with the Jharkhand Space Application Centre (JSAC) is preparing a digital map showing the polluting units.
Remote sensing technology will be used by the JSAC to prepare the digital map.
“We have already provided the longitude and latitude of these polluting units to the JSAC. Soon, a digital map showing the locations of these polluting units will be available with the board,” Singh said.
Later, the digital map may incorporate all the industrial units which are located near the banks of Damodar, the senior PCB official.
Given that the Union government is focusing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project Namami Gange, the flagship programme under the larger Clean Ganga project, a pollution-free Damodar is necessary to achieve the larger goal, Singh said.
The Damodar is being treated as tributary of the Ganga as it converges with the Hooghly in neighbouring West Bengal after crossing Jharkhand.