For residents of Gonur and Veerakkalpudur villages, a recent order from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) is reason to cheer. Their fight against a corporate giant that allegedly discharges poisonous effluents into their lifeline, river Cauvery, just got a boost in a recent NGT order.
On November 25, the NGT ordered the setting up of a Joint Committee to investigate the allegations that the effluents from Chemplast Sanmar factories on the banks of Cauvery in Salem district are contaminating ground water in the region.
Taking the fight to NGT
According to the petitioner K Gemini, a resident of Gonur village in Salem district, the residents of Gonur and Veerakkalpudur are completely dependent on river Cauvery for drinking water.
It all began in 1964 when the government of Tamil Nadu gave permission to Chemplast Sanmar Limited to set up three units within a radius of 500 metres of Cauvery and Mettur dam to manufacture polyvinyl chloride. “But the company started drawing more water from the river, and also started discharging effluents from its factories into the river area. The company says it has a ‘zero discharge’ industry, but it still dumps poisonous effluents into the river,” K Gemini alleges. He adds that in the last six months, the incidences of skin diseases and cancer have shot up among the residents of the two villages.
Gemini also alleges that recently, Chemplast Sanmar has started operating a plant which produces hydrogen peroxide, near Mettur Dam. “Who is giving permission to operate hazardous industries near a water source? Many women in our village have health issues, and we fear that these industries are having adverse effects on our health. We approached the police and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board many times, but got no response,” he says. This compelled Gemini to approach the NGT.
NGT’s fact-finding committee
The case was initially heard in September, and the NGT set up a Joint Committee consisting of a senior officer of State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) Tamil Nadu, a senior scientist from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and a senior scientist from State Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to look into the petitioner’s claims.
The Joint Committee conducted field inspections and monitored the region, and submitted a report to the NGT. In its report, the committee confirmed that the water samples taken from the open wells and borewells in the region showed contamination.
However, it has stated that the source of contamination could not be ascertained for sure and required further study. “In spite of continuous rain fall in the area, the concentrations of TDS and chloride were found as high as 3396 mg/L & 1100 mg/L which confirms the sources of contamination in the area which requires detailed hydrogeological study to identify the sources of contamination (sic),” reads the report submitted by the committee to the NGT.
New committee to identify source of contamination
Due to the recommendation of further study to identify the source of pollution, its extent, and to study the safety measures adopted by the Chemplast Sanmar, the NGT on November 25 ordered the setting up of a new committee.
This new Joint Committee will consist of a member from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), IIT Engineering Department, Chennai; the Director of Safety and Occupational Health from Government of Tamil Nadu; a senior official from CPCB; senior official from TNPCB; and a member from National Geophysical Research Institute.
The NGT also directed the committee to study the ground water contamination allegedly caused by Chemplast Sanmar's activities, and also the safety measures taken by the company to dispose of hazardous waste at its landfill. The committee will also look into the possibility of such landfills causing any further degradation of the soil, and if there are any remedial measures that can be taken.
The Tribunal has given three months for the new committee to submit its report and has posted the case for February 23, 2020 for its next hearing.