Pollution monitoring devices installed in over 900 units: Javadekar

A total of 920 industries in India have installed 24X7 pollution monitoring devices and another 400 have moved towards zero liquid discharge (ZLD), Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday.

Interacting with the media here, he said the ministry had given directions to 2,800 polluting industries around the country and "nearly 50 percent of the industrial units have moved towards compliance".

"The mandate given to polluting industries was to install 24X7 real time monitoring devices at effluent and emission discharge points in industrial units. More than 920 industries have installed the monitoring devices and another 400 have moved towards ZLD," Javadekar said.

The minister further said that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has started receiving online data of compliance with respect to effluents and emissions.

Calling it a "big leap in the management of pollution in the country", Javadekar said that the ministry was working towards introducing a civil penalties provision against the violators.

Stressing that cleaning river Ganga was the government's top priority, he said on the main stem of the river, there are 630 industries falling under the "highly polluting" category, of which 440 are tanneries.

"Of the remaining 190, 80 units have already installed these devices and 30 units have placed orders for procurement. Therefore, 110 out of the 190 units have moved towards compliance," he said.

The minister further said that directions were issued for the closure of 64 non-complying polluting units.