TN govt to hold tripartite talks on Tirupur

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to hold tripartite discussions with representatives of the industry and the farming community in Tirupur to resolve the issues related to Tirupur dyeing industry.

The decision was taken at a meeting chief minister J Jayalalithaa held with her senior cabinet colleagues including state finance minister O Panneerselvam.

The Rs 12,000-crore Tirupur textile industry, which accounts for 80 per cent of the country's knitwear production, has been facing protests from environmentalists against alleged pollution of water.

The Madras High Court, in January this year, had directed all the dyeing units operating at Tirupur to close down with immediate effect, based on a petition filed by non-governmant organisations (NGOs) and farmers against the units for polluting water of Noyyal river, in Tirupur.

Citing indiscriminate discharge of effluents in the river, the High Court ordered that the units would not be permitted to operate unless they achieve zero liquid discharge.