Gujarat environmentalists seek chemical emergency in Vadodara industry cluster, cite high level of water pollution

Counterview Desk
Two top environmentalists from Gujarat have revealed that a recent joint visit of Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) officials in Vadodara’s industrial region has found the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 890 to 1,022 mg per litre of water in channels which are supposed to carry treated, against the maximum norm of 250 mg per litre.
Pointing out that the latest tests wree carried out between November 21 and 23, 2016 at a village Vedach situated in Bharuch district after the channel passes through 24 villages in Vadodara district, senior environmentalists Rohit Prajapati and Krishnakant have alleged that the high level of pollution in water in the 55.6 km long effluent channel of the Effluent Channel Project (ECP) in Vadodara suggests that ECP is “not able to meet the norms since many years.”
Chemical oxygen demand (COD) test is used as a useful measure the amount of organic pollutants in surface water, including wastewater to ascertain of the water quality. It is expressed in milligrams per liter (mg per litre), which indicates the mass of oxygen consumed per liter of solution.
Asking Government of India to declare chemical emergency for ECP industrial cluster of Vadodara district, even as cancelling consolidated consent and authorization of the Vadodara Envior Channel Limited, responsible for ECP, the environmentalists have also sought cancellation of environment clearance of all the defaulting polluting industries of the ECP industrial cluster of Vadodara District.
In a letter to the secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India, the environmentalists have said, the ECP channel passes through 24 villages and prime agricultural land, which is known as the vegetable basket of Gujarat.
Commissioned in 1983 to carry treated industrial effluent from industries near Vadodara to estuary of River Mahi, Gulf of Khambhat, the environmentalists say, the channel carries the effluent of Nandesari Industrial Estate and Vadodara Industrial Complex, apart from a number of polluting industries started coming up on along both side of ECP.
“Since 2004 the villages around the ECP channel have experienced ground water contamination at alarming rates”, they say, adding, “The pollution began because of the seepage, leaching, leaking and overflowing of effluent from the channel and later from illegal untreated effluent discharged by number of polluting industries.”
Pointing out that there have been several investigations conducted by CPCB and GPCB, and other agencies appointed by the concerned authorities, they say, the latest in the series of indictments is “Ground Water Pollution In Luna, Dudhawada, Piludara Area Near Vadodara, Gujarat”, released in July 2016, which followed “Report On Effluent Conveyance System for Nandesari Industrial Area And Industries Located Near Vadodara, Gujarat” of February 2010.
“Nobody, neither even GPCB nor industrialists, have denied that the groundwater is severely contaminated and contamination is spreading in different areas and has reached irreversible level because of industrial activities”, environmentalists contend adding, investigations reveal that “almost all wells and bore wells were contaminated.”

Citing a study in Luna Village conducted in May 2015, they say, it “prima facie proved that its ground water is severely contaminated and contamination is spreading”, adding, “In April 2015 another investigation was conducted by GPCB in Dudhwala village of Vadodara district and in villages Piludara and Vedach of Bharuch district, which illustrated the fact that the bore wells of even these villages too are severely contaminated.”

Comments

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

Why 20 years later, Rang De Basanti feels less like cinema, more like warning

By Mohd Ziyaullah Khan* This Republic Day , the Rang De Basanti , starring Aamir Khan , completed 20 years since its release. I first watched it in a single-screen theatre in my city—at a time when multiplexes were only just beginning to appear and our town was still waiting for one. It remains my favourite film, and I often revisit it on OTT platforms or television around Independence Day or Republic Day, when the air is thick with rehearsed patriotism. A few days ago, I noticed it streaming again on Jio Hotstar . Released in 2006, it is a film I have watched many times over the years. Yet, like all powerful cinema, returning to it at different stages of life offers a different experience. Twenty years ago, I found it deeply inspiring. In 2026, watching it again felt suffocating. At its core, the film follows a group of Delhi University friends who challenge the might of the central government after one of their own, a flight lieutenant, is killed in a MiG aircraft crash alleged...

Stray dogs, an epsilon (ϵ) problem: Of child labour, and the art of misplaced priorities

By Bhaskaran Raman The Greek alphabet ϵ (epsilon) is used in maths and science to denote a quantity which is not zero, but extremely small *** Since the Supreme Court's interim order on the issue of stray dogs came out on 07 Nov 2025, there have been a range of opinion pieces speaking for the voiceless. Most of them take the stance that there is a "problem" with stray dogs, but that we need a humane solution. I agree with this broadly, but I think we need new terminology to talk about this.

A. R. Rahman's ‘Yethu’ goes viral, celebrating Tamil music on the world stage

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* Good news for Tamil music lovers—the Mozart of Madras is back in the Tamil music industry with his song “Yethu” from the film “Moonwalk.” The track has climbed international charts, once again placing A. R. Rahman on the global stage.

Constitution vs. mining: The trial of environmental justice in Pachama Dadar

By Raj Kumar Sinha* The auction process for the Pachama Dadar bauxite block in Balaghat district, Madhya Pradesh, was initiated in 2023. Yet a closer examination of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report submitted for this proposed mining project reveals serious procedural and substantive failures that call into question the legitimacy of the entire exercise.

Search This Blog