Act against Gujarat's defaulting effluent treatment facilities, follow SC order: Pollution control board told

Untreated water from effluent treatment plant in Vadodara

By A Representative
Would a recent Supreme Court order prove to be a “test case” on whether the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) “immediately” act against the industry-driven final effluent treatment facilities provided to the industrial areas of Vadodara and Ankaleshwar as they were allegedly unable to meet the prescribed GPCB norms?
Citing the order, a top Gujarat-based environmental body has insisted that not only the Consolidated Consent and Authorization certificate to the two effluent treatment facilities – Narmada Clean Tech (NCT), Ankaleshwar, and Vadodara Enviro Channel Limited (VECL) – should be cancelled.
At the same time, the NGO, Paryavaran Surak Samiti (PSS), has said, chemical emergency should be declared for the industrial clusters attached with the two effluents treatment facilities, even as cancelling Environment Clearance (EC) given to all the “defaulting polluting industries.”
NCT is a state-run Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) subsidiary, jointly promoted by member industries of Ankleshwar, Jhagadia and Panoli industrial estates to receive treated industrial effluent and to polish up to marine standards, and then to convey deep into the sea. VECL provides a similar function for tens of top industrial units around Vadodara.
The demand is based on a recent Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report, which has found that groundwater of villages off Vadodara is highly polluted due to “industrial activity”, mainly because of what it calls “unscientific disposal of hazardous waste water” into the effluent treatment channel, which goes to the sea.
The report, prepared in September 2016, had said that the colour of the groundwater all over varies from dark brownish-red to pale yellow, adding, the situation is particularly extremely alarming in groundwater locations around the dye intermediate industries.
In a statement, PSS’ Rohit Prjapati, Krishnakant, Swati Desai, Anand Mazgaonkar, Rajnibhai Dave, and Michael Mazgaonkar -- and endorsed by Kirit Amin and Ghanshyam Patel of the Farmers’ Action Group, and Salim Patel and Hareshbhai Parmar of the Prakruti Suraksha Mandal, Ankleshwar -- says that the apex court, responding to PSS's writ petitions(c) No. 375 of 2012, said that “the industry requiring ‘consent to operate’ can be permitted to run, only if its primary effluent treatment plant is functional.
Delivered on February 22, 2017 by the Supreme Court bench consisting Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice Dr DY Chandrachud, and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, the judgment directs all State Pollution Control Boards, to issue notices to all industrial units, which require “consent to operate”, by way of a common advertisement, requiring them to make their primary effluent treatment plants fully operational within three months.
“That means deadline ends on May 23, 2017”, the statement says, adding, “On the expiry of the notice period of three months, the concerned State Pollution Control Boards are mandated to carry out inspections, to verify, whether or not, each industrial unit requiring ‘consent to operate’ has a functional primary effluent treatment plant.”
“Such an industrial concern, which has been disabled from carrying on its industrial activities, is granted liberty to make its primary effluent treatment plant functional to the required capacity. Only after the receipt of such fresh ‘consent to operate’, the industrial activities of the disabled industry can be permitted to be resumed”, the statement says.

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Is U.S. fast losing its financial and technological edge under Trump’s second tenure?

By Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra* The United States, along with its Western European allies, once promoted globalization as a democratic force that would deliver shared prosperity and balanced growth. That promise has unraveled. Globalization, instead of building an even world, has produced one defined by inequality, asymmetry of power, and new vulnerabilities. For decades, Washington successfully turned this system to its advantage. Today, however, under Trump’s second administration, America is attempting to exploit the weaknesses of others without acknowledging how exposed it has become itself.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

On Teachers’ Day, remembering Mother Teresa as the teacher of compassion

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ It is Teachers’ Day once again! Significantly, the day also marks the Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta (still lovingly called Mother Teresa). In 2012, the United Nations, as a fitting tribute to her, declared this day the International Day of Charity. A day pregnant with meaning—one that we must celebrate as meaningfully as possible.

Gujarat minority rights group seeks suspension of Botad police officials for brutal assault on minor

By A Representative A human rights group, the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat, has written to the Director General of Police (DGP), Gandhinagar, demanding the immediate suspension and criminal action against police personnel of Botad police station for allegedly brutally assaulting a minor boy from the Muslim community.

Counterview

Search This Blog