Authorities are yet to crack down on illegal tanneries.
Ahead of the arrival of monsoon, members of Calcutta Leather Complex Tanners’ Association alleged that there are about 100 tanneries in and around China Town area in the eastern fringes of the city which are functioning flouting Supreme Court norms and polluting the soil and underground water as well.
Imran Ahmed, secretary of Calcutta Leather Complex Tanners’ Association (CLCTA) said that even before the monsoon has set, the area gets inundated after a brief shower, thanks to the tanneries. “Tanneries operate illegally in the city fringes of Kolkata violating the order of the Supreme Court of India. They flood the streets of EM Bypass even during slightest rain. There are about 60 such tanneries in China Town. The entire China Town under wards 58, 65 and 66 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is under threat of Chromium contamination by the illegal effluent discharged by tanneries into the domestic sewerage pipeline network,” Ahmed told DNA. He also said that on behalf of the association he had put in a complaint to the local police station, mayor of the KMC and chairman of the Pollution Control Board. “The PCB chairman told us that the carcinogenic pollutants not only affect the soil but mix with underground water making it toxic,” Ahmed added.
Supreme Court had ordered in 1996 for the shifting of tanneries to a modern complex built on equal cost sharing by the state and Centre and that the place had to be equipped with Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) but Ahmed said that these illegal tanneries had been flouting rules with impunity. “We have decided that enough is enough. We could not let these people play with the health of so many. There had been police raids and most of the tanneries have been shut on June 22 but if they return after a few days, we have requested police authorities to dismantle and confiscate their equipment or we will file a case of contempt of court against the police,” Ahmed added. He also assured to extend help to tannery owners who wanted to shift their units to the Calcutta Leather Complex at Bantala in South 24 Parganas district.
Civic authorities said they are aware of the menace. “Yes there is a problem with the effluents which cause flooding in that part of the city and we are in the process of upgrading the drainage system to ensure that it doesn’t happen this time,” said member, mayor-in-council (drainage) of KMC, Tarak Singh, talking to DNA without wanting to comment on the legalities of the tanneries.
Chairman of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) Dr Kalyan Rudra too expressed his helplessness. “Functioning of the tanneries in spite of the Supreme Court rules is grossly illegal but there is not much I can do about it because those are technically non-existent and thus not within the regularity mechanism of the PCB. At most what I can do if I get a complaint is to notify the respective police station about it,” he told DNA.
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 "Pollutants emitted by tannery")
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