The fact that 18 industries have been ordered to suspend operations by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) because their effluent treatment plant (ETP) wasn't working should send alarm bells to everyone.
This is because untreated effluents can cause serious damage to the environment by polluting water. What is particularly worse is that some of these 18 units do not even have an ETP to begin with. Even overall, this paints an extremely sorry picture. In a day and age when everyone is getting more and more concerned about environmental protection, certain units have not even bothered about the very basics.
However, this is not the full picture, as some units which have been told to shut down by GSPCB, are really small and it's not within their means to have their own ETPs. For instance, seven micro units in Bethora Industrial Estate, which have been told to shut down have said that they are too small to invest in an ETP.
Some of these units have even raised a demand for having a common ETP. They have said that they are willing to pay the state government to set up a common ETP.
Interestingly, the Supreme Court (SC) order, which had said that industries should have a working ETP or must shut down had also mentioned that local bodies should be told that all industrial areas should have a common ETP in the next three years. This means that the apex court has clearly put the onus on the state government to create common ETPs, which is what the industries are demanding. But, as per the SC order, the government still has three years to set up common ETPs. What will happen to small units that do not have an ETP till then? This is a difficult question to answer.
Meanwhile, several industrialists have maintained that people working in industrial estates don't follow basic hygiene practices either. In certain industrial estates, it is seen that workers wash their hands and just throw dirty water out of the manufacturing premises.
Not only can this cause pollution, but it can also result in breeding of mosquitoes and flies, which is extremely bad for the health of everyone working in the industrial estates. In short, we are not able to take care of something as basic as waste water, whether it is effluent or something else.
Hopefully, the SC order will bring in much-needed discipline in the industrial space, as both the industries and the government will now know that effluents have to be treated and there is no way out.
Perhaps, it's a good idea for the managements of these companies to start training their workforce right from the lowest level on the importance of treating effluents.
This is because untreated effluents can cause serious damage to the environment by polluting water. What is particularly worse is that some of these 18 units do not even have an ETP to begin with. Even overall, this paints an extremely sorry picture. In a day and age when everyone is getting more and more concerned about environmental protection, certain units have not even bothered about the very basics.
However, this is not the full picture, as some units which have been told to shut down by GSPCB, are really small and it's not within their means to have their own ETPs. For instance, seven micro units in Bethora Industrial Estate, which have been told to shut down have said that they are too small to invest in an ETP.
Some of these units have even raised a demand for having a common ETP. They have said that they are willing to pay the state government to set up a common ETP.
Interestingly, the Supreme Court (SC) order, which had said that industries should have a working ETP or must shut down had also mentioned that local bodies should be told that all industrial areas should have a common ETP in the next three years. This means that the apex court has clearly put the onus on the state government to create common ETPs, which is what the industries are demanding. But, as per the SC order, the government still has three years to set up common ETPs. What will happen to small units that do not have an ETP till then? This is a difficult question to answer.
Meanwhile, several industrialists have maintained that people working in industrial estates don't follow basic hygiene practices either. In certain industrial estates, it is seen that workers wash their hands and just throw dirty water out of the manufacturing premises.
Not only can this cause pollution, but it can also result in breeding of mosquitoes and flies, which is extremely bad for the health of everyone working in the industrial estates. In short, we are not able to take care of something as basic as waste water, whether it is effluent or something else.
Hopefully, the SC order will bring in much-needed discipline in the industrial space, as both the industries and the government will now know that effluents have to be treated and there is no way out.
Perhaps, it's a good idea for the managements of these companies to start training their workforce right from the lowest level on the importance of treating effluents.
