Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Forum opposes Palar river basin panel

By Our Staff Reporter

VELLORE April 2 . The Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum has opposed constitution of a Multi Stake Holders Committee of the Palar River Basin. The committee has been constituted as part of a research project of the Madras Institute of Development Studies funded by the International Development Research Centre, Canada.

In a statement, the forum said it opposed foreign assistance to the committee as it helps the tanneries continue operations under the pretext of having found technologies helping them.

The forum said the Supreme Court had stated the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board should not permit tanneries or other hazardous industries to operate exceeding the pollution standards especially total dissolved solids (TDS), biological oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand. Even though the TNPCB standard for the TDS level was 2100 mg/litre, the State Government had directed the TNPCB not to question the tanneries exceeding upto 7500 mg/l. ``As per the board report released two years ago, most tanneries exceeded 7500 mg/l''.

The VCWF said the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, already filed its final report on `assessment of loss of ecology on September 30, 1999 after a survey of the places affected by tannery pollution in and around the river basin. The university should be asked to survey these areas assess the damage caused by tannery pollution and other health hazards caused by contamination of surface and sub-soil water of the Palar and file periodical reports. The MIDS should immediately dissolve its present committee with members from tanneries and restrict its work to other surveys, the forum said.

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