31 December 2008
Special Correspondent
The Hindu
——————————————————————————–
Several units operating in violation of Environmental Protection Act,
says report
——————————————————————————–
CUDDALORE: The SIPCOT Area Community Environmental Monitoring (SACEM), an organisation formed by the locals, has alleged that most of the units in the SIPCOT Industrial Estate here were operating in violation of the Environmental Protection Act and pollution control norms.
In its report, “Ground truths II: Status of hazardous wastes and pollution in SIPCOT chemical estate,” released to the press here on Tuesday, the organisation said that at least eight units were set up without the “consent to establish,” 22 were operating without valid licence under the Air and Water Acts and five were functioning without obtaining the Costal Regulatory Zone clearance.
The SACEM had already submitted its first report in 2005 to the Supreme Court monitoring committee on hazardous waste. However, owing to laxity on part of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board officials, the condition in the industrial estate had deteriorated, it noted.
Hence, the SACEM urged the authorities to initiate legal action against the erring units, make it mandatory for the units to disclose the manner of their operation and impart training among health officials and police personnel on the implementation of environmental rules.