NGT slaps ₹1 crore fine on Barmer textile units for polluting Luni river
JODHPUR REGIONAL OFFICER OF POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD WAS ORDERED TO PAY A FINE OF ₹10,000 FOR NOT TAKING EFFECTIVE ACTION TO CHECK POLLUTION
: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday imposed a fine of ₹1 crore on 214 textile units in Bithuja town of Barmer district for discharging polluted water into Luni river.
The regional officer of Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board was ordered to pay a fine of ₹10,000 for not taking effective action to check pollution.
An NGT division bench, comprising Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore and expert member Satyawan Singh Garbyal, ordered Bithuja Industries to pay this fine within a week.
Petitioner Digvijay Singh Jasol said the polluted water was being discharged into Luni river by Bithuja Textile Industries.
On December 4, polluted water was discharged into Luni river and it was reported to the Pollution Control Board. The Regional Officer of the Board issued show cause notices, but did not take any effective action against the textile units.
During the hearing on Monday, photos of polluted water being discharged into the river were submitted before the NGT.
Expressing deep dissatisfaction, the NGT imposed a fine of ₹1 crore on all 214 textile units for discharge the polluted water.
The NGT is hearing the case following the direction of the Rajasthan high court issued in 2013.
Earlier in 2011, Digvijay Singh Jasol filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Rajasthan high court against the Balotra, Bithuja and Jasol textile units for polluting Luni river.
The high court had banned discharge of treated or untreated effluent in the river and transferred the case to the NGT in 2014.
The NGT had appointed an expert, Ajay A Deshpande, as the court commissioner and asked him to conduct an inspection in the matter and suggest remedial measures.
In his report to the NGT in May, Deshpande stated that the textile units in Balotra, Bithuja and Jasol were polluting the surroundings, including Luni river and also recommended remedial measures to prevent the pollution.
Petitioner Jasol told the NGT that Bithuja Textile Units are violating the court order and continuously polluting the river.
The NGT also directed Chairman and Member Secretary of the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board to appear before it on December 21.
Balotra Textile Hand Processors Association president Gani Mohammad Sumro said, “I am out of station and haven’t seen court’s order.”