MPCB issues notices to seven industrial plants from Tarapur

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As many as seven manufacturing and production units from Tarapur industrial area near the metropolis, have been served show-cause notices for causing water pollution in adjacent water bodies and creek.

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), the environmental watchdog of the state government, had issued notices to these industrial plants last week, Joint Director of the MPCB Y E Sontakke said.

The companies that have received the notices include Tata Steel, Resonance Speciality, Mudra Lifestyle, Kokuyo Camlin, Kriplon Synthetics, Aarti Industries and Karamtara Engineering.

The MPCB had issued the show-cause notices for flouting environmental norms. These notices were issued under the Water Act, 1974, Air Act, 1981, and Hazardous Waste Rules, 2008.

If the notice is not responded satisfactorily or no assurance is offered by the companies — the subsequent action is a closure of the entire plant, an official from the MPCB said.

"There are some industrial establishments like Tarapur and Taloja in Raigad district and Lote Parshuram in Ratnagiri district that are known to heavily pollute the area. Tarapur is one of the five critically polluted areas in the state. We have asked officials of MIDC to reduce the water consumption and improve the efficiency of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) at the respective industrial establishments," P Anbalagan, Member Secretary of MPCB, told PTI on Saturday.

The hearing in this regard will take place next week, he said.

"The processed effluent of the CETP in Tarapur was tested by MPCB officials, and we found that it is not complying with the standards laid for the companies. The contamination has been significantly higher hence we issued notices to the industries. The direct impact of the higher amount of polluted water is on the ecosystem of the creek and we have supportive evidence for the same," Sontakke said.