Effluent discharge norms too stringent?

Raising serious concerns over an Environment Ministry?s proposal to mandate virtually all the textile units to reduce their effluent discharge to zero, the Textiles Ministry in India has asked to review the proposal as it could lead to closure of many units.

In a letter to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Textiles Secretary SK Panda has said the proposed standards are ?too stringent? and it would make the zero liquid discharge commercially non-viable. The secretary also said insisting on zero liquid discharge standards will lead to closure of the industry and due to that people may lose their jobs.

The proposed standards seek to lay down zero liquid discharge for textile processing units where water discharge is greater than 25 KLD (kilolitres per day). The Textiles Ministry has argued the domestic processing industry is largely unorganised and consists of small and medium units. The proposed norms are stringent in terms of capital investment and it would also have high recurring expenditure.

The domestic industry has already raised their concerns on the move. They have requested to review the proposed environmental standards. Speaking on the issue, the outgoing secretary Panda says the norms could be implemented in a phased manner. The Textiles Ministry has held several meetings with the industry representatives, textile research associations and Indian Institute of Technology on the issue. A committee has already been formed for studying the existing technologies of effluent treatment.