Industries in Maharashtra to get 'green' nod online

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has decided to speed up the process of granting licences for all commercial applications by going on-line.

"Now an applicant will not have to wait for more than a month to get a licence," said D B Boralkar, member secretary of the board.

Inaugurating a workshop on fly ash utilisation organised jointly by Khaparkheda Thermal Power Station (KTPS) and Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA) at VIA Hall here, Boralkar said the board at its last meeting charted out a roadmap intended to improve the board's functioning and bring in transparency in order to respond to the needs of environment protection for sustainable development of the state.

The application process period is being cut down as part of this re-engineering programme, Boralkar said.

Earlier, it used to take anywhere between one-and-a half years to two years for granting a licence. This was because after the application was submitted, the board's field officer used to visit the site and give a report which took a long time before reaching the final authority.

Now any person can seek a licence by applying on-line. He will be given a date on which the licence will be granted immediately. Also, the appraisal report will not be prepared by the MPCB but by a chartered engineer hired by the applicant, Boralkar said.

Recognising municipal waste as a serious issue, the MPCB has taken up a demonstration project involving 10 small municipalities where it would set up solid waste disposing plants.

The municipalities will have to bear only 10 per cent of the project cost, while the rest would be borne by MPCB, Central Pollution Control Board and private operators, he said.

Depending on the success of the demonstration project, a comprehensive programme for municipal solid waste disposal for the entire state will be prepared, he said.

Earlier, in his introductory remarks, chief engineer of KTPS, A D Palamwar, said lakhs of tonne of fly ash is generated every day by thermal plants in the country.

In India, 80 per cent of power is produced by burning coal. If not properly used, fly ash will degrade soil, water and air. However, fly ash is not a waste but a resource if looked at in the proper perspective, he said.

Products made with fly ash should be promoted to increase the off-take of fly ash. If the fly ash is utilised, it can even lead to reduction in the cost of power production, he said.

President of VIA Mohan Agrawal said the three thermal power stations in Vidarbha generate 20,000 metric tonne of fly ash every day. The utilisation, however, is just 10 per cent. There is lot of scope for fly ash utilisation and for generating money and employment thereby, he said.

Stringent action against lax waste disposal mooted

Member Secretary of MPCB D B Boralkar on Saturday said that the board will take "heavy legal action" against hospitals which do not follow proper waste disposal methods.

Speaking at the inaugural function of a workshop on fly ash utilisation, Boralkar observed that hospitals have poor waste management record.

The waste remains unremoved from the hospital for more than a week posing a serious threat to the health of people both inside and outside the hospital. There have been cases in certain big cities such as Nasik, Mumbai, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad where private entrepreneurs took up the job of medical waste disposal.

However, their work has not been found satisfactory by the Board.

Boralkar said, their work will now be reviewed and if required action initiated. He said that two senior MPCB officials are currently studying hospital waste management practices in the state.

They will be submitting a report in three weeks' time after which action will be taken to enforce waste management norms, he said.