Gujarat: Industries seek more time to meet National Green Tribunal norms
Industries across Gujarat have sought intervention of state and central government to get more time to comply with the order by National Green Tribunal (NGT) to meet the emission norms. NGT has declared five industrial clusters as critically polluted and therefore run a risk of closure. However, environmental activists say that industries have been given enough time and now strict action should be taken against them.
In a letter to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Union Minister of Environment and Forest, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) said that industries in Gujarat are proactive in adopting new technologies to mitigate pollution. Huge investments have been made in the creation of new Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP). "This has enabled a reduction in emission by about 90 per cent in a short period of time. Improving standards from this stage require technology intervention and reasonable time. We, therefore, request that stage-wise benchmarks from this stage should be provided to industries and reasonable time should be provided," said the letter.
NGT judgement overrides CEPI guidelines and is therefore unreasonable. Tests by GPCB and CPCB show varying results.