35 Baddi units get notice over pollution norms.

September 2, 2022

Thirty-five industrial units in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) belt have been served a show-cause notice by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) for flouting norms.
Several violations like having non-functional air pollution control devices and a lack of record of effluent treatment plants and the storage and disposal of hazardous waste were found at these units during a recent surprise check conducted by the board.
Praveen Gupta, Chief Environmental Engineer, SPCB, Baddi, said the show-cause notice had been issued to the 35 units engaged in manufacturing textiles, pharmaceuticals, home appliances, etc, for various violations under Sections 41,43 and 44 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,1974, and Section 31-A of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,1981.
The BBN industrial units are already under the scanner of the National Green Tribunal for failing to adhere to the norms and for flagrantly discharging toxic effluent into the water bodies.
The SPCB was directed to take strict action against such units and also monitor the working of the Common Effluent Treatment Plant in Baddi after laxities were found in its working.
The Sirsa river stretch in Baddi is rated the most polluted and contaminated by the Central Pollution Control Board. Various water bodies of the BBN area drain into this river.
Baddi also figures in the Central Pollution Control Board’s list of non-attainment cities as it does not meet the national ambient air quality standards.