378 industrial units in Haryana to face closure for polluting Yamuna

An official said that the polluting industries have been told to shut their units and their electricity supply will be disconnected until they get fresh clearance certificate after compliance of a set guidelines.

More than 378 industrial units in state have been issued closure notice by the Haryana state pollution control board (HSPCB) for polluting Yamuna river by pumping untreated water into it.

A polluted section of the Yamuna river at Kalindi Kunj , Noida.(Virendra Singh Gosain/HT PHOTO)

The crackdown was necessitated after the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had, earlier this month, directed the HSPCB to take action against the errant units immediately, two months after the former along with officials of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), had conducted an inspection to monitor the water quality of Yamuna river.

As per official data, as many as 175 such units were identified in Yamunanagar zone which also includes the Karnal district, 63 in Ballabhgarh, 46 in Gurgaon, 32 in Sonepat, 31 each in Panipat and Faridabad.

“We have conducted a survey in the entire Yamuna belt and have identified about 400 such units and 350 of them have already been issued closure notices. Most of them have already been shut for non-compliance of norms,” HSPCB member secretary S Narayanan told Hindustan Times.

He said they have been told to shut their units and their electricity supply will be disconnected until they get fresh clearance certificate after compliance of a set guidelines. Besides, efforts are being made for prosecution of about 200 units, he added.

On why the HSPCB waited for the orders of the CPCB to take action, Narayanan said, “The action has been taken as these units were found violating the norms. But the pollution control board conducts regular inspections and issues closure notices to industries routinely.”

He also said the HSPCB has also told large and medium scale units to install online liquid waste monitoring devices for round-the-clock monitoring and take timely action against erring units.

The Haryana state pollution control board was asked to identify the non-complying units and taken action after a team found three drains carrying untreated water from various units at Yamunanagar, Panipat and Kundli mixing with the river, making it unfit even for use in bathing. The team further observed that these drains flow throughout the year and pollute the Yamuna, which is the biggest source of drinking water in Delhi.