Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology, Chaudhary Lal Singh said that industrial units not adhering to pollution norms would be shut with immediate effect. While taking a review meeting of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) here, the Minister said the industrial units not complying with the pollution norms would be closed down. He said that instructions have already been passed to the concerned officers to launch a campaign in this regard. He said that the owners of brick kilns, stone crushers and cement factories have been instructed to install pollution control devices on priority to check the pollution. “Any industrial unit especially, cements factories, stone crushers, brick kilns found not adhering to pollution norms will be closed down immediately,” he said, adding Government will take serious action under law against the violators”. The Forest Minister said that the cement industries have also been directed to install on-line continuous (24×7) monitoring devices. The meeting was attended by Chairman, SPCB, Ravi Kesar, Member Secretary, Vasu Yadav, Secretary Technical Forest Department, BM Sharma, other senior members of SPCB and officers of the Forest Department. The Minister said that the owners have been instructed that the equipment including dust containment cum suppression system should be installed at every stone crusher and cement factory. He said that instructions with regard to the construction of wind breaking walls especially at charging hopper & crushing place and construction of the metalled roads within the premises, regular wetting of the ground within the premises have already been passed to the unit holders though the PCB. The Minister also said that the green belt will be developed along the periphery of the industrial units. “The Government intends to take necessary measures to control the pollution in such areas,” the Minister said. He said the State Government has issued all the necessary instructions to install such equipment in their units. The Minister said that PCB conducts surprise inspection of cement industries, stone crushing units and other industrial units under Environmental Surveillance Squad. The meeting was informed that in order to assess the compliance status with respect to the prescribed emission/effluent norms, directions under Environment (Protection) Act (EPA), 1986 are issued to the non-compliant industries and under section 18(1) (b) of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 to State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) to direct industries to comply with the stipulated norms.
