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| SPCB fails to act against violators | | Health establishments, industries flout norms | | Saqib Junaid
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, May 27: Despite flouting the norms of the State Pollution Control Board, authorities have failed to act against the health establishments and the cement factories that are operating without adhering the rules in the state.
Sources within the SPCB said more than 500 health care establishments in the state are operating without the sanction of the SPCB and are handling bio-medical waste in violation of the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules. The health care institutions treating over one thousand patients per month are required to seek authorization of the board under the rules. "But over 550 health establishments are operating without authorization certificate from the SPCB," an official said. The official said majority of the defaulters are government institutions and no action has been taken against them.
Similarly the industrial units at their own level are required to do the pollution test in any recognized lab and check whether their pollution control devices are functioning properly. Besides that SPCB has to take the sample as per schedule to check the pollution level of these industrial units. "But nothing such is being done in the state," the official said.
Sources said the SPCB has failed to take action against the industrial units whose pollution control board certificate had expired.
Further sources said the stone crushers, brick kilns have created havoc in Budgam district due to huge pollution emanating from these units. Similarly, in Pampore area most of the cement factories have failed to install pollution control devices.
Despite the valley being an environmentally fragile zone, the sources said the SPCB has failed to live up to its objectives and to regulate anti-pollution control laws. They said the board had also failed to check the emission and effluent level of industrial units in the state and no air pollution testing of the industries was being done.
Interestingly, the environment management has not found a proper place in the planning of the state till date despite the fact that Jammu and Kashmir has already been declared as an "Air Pollution Control Zone" under the Air (Prevention and Control) Act-1981.
Secretary State Pollution Control Board Yasu Yadav admitted that most of the health establishments in the state were operating without authorization of the SPCB.
"There has been changes in the bio-medical rules under which the health establishments which had not authorized have to get proper sanction from the SPCB," Yadav told Early Times. He said the issue has already been raised with the health department.
When asked whether the board had taken any action against the industrial units whose consent to operate had expired, The Secretary SPCB said there had been delay to renew the registration of industrial units whose registration has been expired. "But most of them have consent of SPCB to operate. But we have told them all to get proper registration."
The Secretary also admitted that pollution was emanating from cement factories operating in the Valley.
"We have told them to install online monitoring devices so that their pollution level is constantly monitored by CPCB. We hope they will install these devices within three months and moreover we are going seal three cement factories from Kashmir as well as three from Jammu as per the directions from CPCB for non compliance of directions," he said.
Further he said the SPCB was facing shortage of staff as no recruitment has been conducted for the past many years. |
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