Board had issued 1420 notices and 1798 closure orders to polluting units in 2012-13.
While travelling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai, it would not be difficult to understand even at night when one had crossed Ankleshwar and Vapi. It is only the air pollution that makes one feel about the place. But water pollution at these places was at the level where water bodies in the surrounding areas were full of toxic chemicals.
The situation has, however, changed dramatically in the last three years, claimed the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB). Water pollution in Ankleshwar was measured at 2,000 mg/litre (milligram per litre) of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) and in Vapi, the COD level was 2100 mg/litre, which was many times higher than the permissible limit.
“However, following sustained efforts, we have managed to improve the situation in both the industrial areas. Amla Khadi in Ankleshwar was full off toxic pollutants and never had clear water. So was the situation at Vapi’s Bil Khadi. None of these water bodies had clear water in the last 30 years,” said GPCB member-secretary Hardik Shah.
“But, with sustained effort, we have reduced the COD levels to 450 mg/litre and 400 mg/litre at Amla Khadi in Ankleshwar and Bil Khadi in Vapi, respectively, in the last one-and-a-half years. We have succeeded in reducing pollution by 25 per cent to 75 per cent in various pockets of these industrial areas,” he added.
GPCB had issued 1420 notices and 1798 closure orders to polluting units in the state in 2012-13.
However, Mahesh Pandya, environment activist and director of Paryavaran Mitra, said: “The permissible limit of COD is 250 mg/litre for the effluent getting discharged into the sea. But, GPCB’s claim for Ankleshwar and Vapi shows that the COD is still nearly double the permissible limit. They must reduce it to the permissible limit as a glass full of poison or half a glass of poison has the same lethal effect.”
GPCB to start new facilities for industries
Now, industrial unit owners need not visit the GPCB head office to seek its renewal of consent for their units. “We are starting online auto-renewal system for industrial units to renew consent for their units. They will not need to visit GPCB offices. They would just need to fill up online renewal forms. This will help at least 60 per cent industrial units in the state which have clear records like not getting any closure notices or have not increased or decreased their production capacity,” said GPCB chairman K U Mistry.
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