Wednesday, Oct 01, 2003
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Kerala
By G. Krishnakumar
The Board, which took note of the recommendations based on media reports, has found that it would be difficult to accept the charter due to "practical difficulties''. In divergence with the conclusions of the Greenpeace report, the Board has found that majority of the companies along the Periyar are equipped with standard treatment facilities, according to sources. A recent study conducted by Greenpeace had found that indiscriminate pollution had resulted in increased incidence of diseases and death among people living in the Eloor industrial area. Diseases including cancer, congenital birth-defects, bronchitis, asthma, allergic dermatitis and stomach ulcers were found to be common in the area. In the eight-point charter, Greenpeace has given top priority to zero discharge into the Periyar. The Board has rejected this suggestion on the ground that it would not be practical to implement zero discharge. The Board, which monitors pollution levels in the river periodically, has found that dumping of effluents into the river has gone down considerably. This was the result of punitive action against erring companies, sources said. The second major recommendation of Greenpeace is to ensure clean production at Eloor, which, according to the Board, is the responsibility of the companies. The third recommendation was to provide compensation and medical rehabilitation of people affected by pollution. The Board is of the view of that it has no powers to ask the companies to implement this recommendation. Another major recommendation of the study--to clean up all contaminated sites including the Kuzhikandam Creek--is also likely to remain shelved as the Board has "no statutory powers" to direct the industrial units to clean up the sites. Greenpeace has also recommended that the State and Central agencies ensure strict enforcement of environmental norms. The Board has refuted allegations that it had failed to enforce environmental norms on industrial units along the Periyar. The Board has taken stringent action against companies that caused pollution of the river. It has even issued orders to close down such units on several occasions. While saying that most of the Greenpeace recommendations were impractical, the Board accepts the fact that the river was not free from pollution. The Board had been taking necessary steps to control the pollution, sources said. The Greenpeace study had suggested that the Government amend its policies to ensure that all new industrial estates adopted clean production technologies, ecological norms and zero discharge. The study was jointly conducted by Greenpeace and medical teams from the Occupational Health and Safety Centre, Mumbai, Community Health Cell, Bangalore, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences and the St. John's Medical College, Bangalore. Eloor and Pindimana were the two sites selected for the comparative study.
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