Faced with criticism for its inaction against the air and water pollution in the Eloor-Edayar industrial stretch, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board has initiated a few measures including a weekly review by the Chief Environmental Engineer, Ernakulam, on the action taken against the polluting units and a study to check whether the region has exceeded its environmental carrying capacity.
The board had received flak following the deteriorating air quality levels in the areas close to the industrial area over the past two weeks. Unchecked emissions had made life miserable for the local residents and the foul/pungent smell was experienced in the nearby Eloor, Muppathadam and Kadungalloor areas.
A recent meeting convened by the board and attended by the elected representatives, environmental activists and industrial representatives admitted that the pollution levels had worsened. According to senior board officials, the shortcomings at the Environmental Surveillance Centre were discussed. It was found that the response mechanism of the centre had to be stepped up in the event of a pollution incident.
The Chief Environmental Engineer at the Ernakulam regional office of the board will visit the centre once in a week. The official will evaluate the action taken on complaints and evaluate whether the systems to check air and water pollution installed in the units were functioning efficiently. The officials admitted that the biofilter units installed in rubber and meat processing units were not functioning properly, resulting in the release of pungent/foul smell.
The board has also agreed to carry out a carrying capacity study in the Edayar industrial area amidst apprehensions on whether it had exceeded the environment capacity. Purushan Eloor, spokesperson of the Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi, said that nearly 340 units were presently functioning in the area. “We had alerted the authorities, especially the board, on several occasions earlier that the region has exceeded its environment capacity even as new industrial units continued to be set up in the area in violation of various norms,” he said.
Published – February 10, 2025 09:31 pm IST