The Hindu : Kerala News : Row over letter recommending clearance for factory

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 20, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Row over letter recommending clearance for factory

N.J. Nair

Supreme Court panel member writes to PCB

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A letter written by D.B. Boralkar, member of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes, to the Kerala State Pollution Control Board seeking to grant permission to an industrial unit based at Aluva for recycling used oil is said to be against the rules.

Dr. Boralkarhad written the letter on October 16 last year to the then member-secretary of the board K.V. Indulal recommending to give clearance to the industrial unit. The letter says that the committee had received a representation from the unit during its visit to Kochi from October 12 to 14, which was handed over to the board too.

Dr. Boralkar says that the unit had secured the registration with the Central Pollution Control Board for refining used oil at 9,000 kilo litre a year. He also says that he had visited the unit on his way to the airport, inspected the facilities and was satisfied. The letter has also detailed the arrangements made by the company for recycling/refining the oil. An incinerator had also been set up for disposing of residue from the unit. Given this, he could not think of any reason why permission should be withheld for the unit, the letter says.

When contacted, board sources said that Dr. Boralkar's letter was against norms. The prime responsibility of the committee was to monitor and report to the Supreme Court whether any company was violating the pollution control norms. A committee member cannot recommend the board to give clearance to run a unit, sources said.

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