Notice served on 19 polluting units

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, MARCH 14. The A.P. Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has served closure notice on 19 pollution causing industrial units - 14 textile, four battery extraction and one steel re-rolling mill located at the Kattedan here on Wednesday.

The APPCB had put a `red' tag on nearly 114 industries located along the Musi riverbed for causing acute air and water pollution which have to be closed down. Forty such units were functioning on the upstream and 74 on the downstream, all these operating within a 10-km radius.

These were among the 6,000 industries functioning in the 13 estates located within the immediate periphery of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH). The polluting units located in the areas of Chandrayanagutta, Nur Mohammed Kunta, Mir Alam Tank in the Musi would be targeted next.

Earlier, this week a high-level team on industrial promotion held a meeting with representatives of the Federation of A.P. Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) to discuss the issue of shifting of the polluting industries.

At the meeting presided over by Mr. T. Gopal Rao, Principal Secretary, and Commissioner of Industries, it was decided that the Government allow 18 industries of the 114 put in the `red' category to shift them to zones to be identified by the A.P. Industrial Investment Corporation (APIIC) and the FAPCCI. The rest had to be closed down.

Around 20 units manufacturing lead and ingot items were highly polluted and should not be permitted to function unless there was an induction of new technology. Even then, these units should not be allowed to function in a cluster but be dispersed.

The shifted units can be located between Shadnagar and Jadcherla where the Jurala project was coming up to take care of the water needs. The APPCB was determined to act against the erring polluting industries but wanted to be done in a phased manner.

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Section  : Southern States
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