Karnataka - Mangalore   

Polluting units told to mend ways

MANGALORE: Minister for Environment J. Krishna Palemar has said that industries classified as “highly polluting” are flouting safety norms.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a function to inaugurate a waste management unit at Pachchanadi on the outskirts of the city on Saturday.

Citing a list of 135 companies in the State that come under the 17 sector-specific category of hazardous industries, Mr. Palemar warned these companies to fall in line with the norms. Making a particular reference to five such industries in Dakshina Kannada, he said there was growing evidence that these companies were polluting their surroundings. The companies that Mr. Palemar mentioned were Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd., BASF India Ltd., BASF Coating Pvt. Ltd., and Sequent Scientific Ltd., a pharmaceutical company at Bykampady. He said that violation of environment norms by these companies had gone unnoticed because of the lack of a proper monitoring agency. “People do not have much faith in government monitoring agencies like the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). Hence, we outsourced the testing and monitoring to people who we thought were incorruptible,” he said.

The College of Fisheries and the National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K), Surathkal, were among them. “The reports of the NIT-K and the College of Fisheries seem to be incorrect in the light of the revelations made by government agencies. Everything will be made public in a week’s time,” he said.

Warning of strict action against violators of pollution norms, Mr. Palemar said the Government could even cancel the licences of these five companies. On the proposed expansion plans of MRPL, the Minister said, “We may have to stall its expansion plans. It all depends on what transpires over the next few weeks.” Admonishing KSPCB officials, Mr. Palemar asked them to investigate the claims of villagers that they were being suffocated by the noxious fumes released by a nearby petrochemical company.

“This company releases the fumes late at night. That is the time you should collect air samples and not during the day when there is no activity at the plant,” he said.

Mr. Palemar reiterated his opposition to mega industries in this region. “We should concentrate instead on tourism and non-polluting industries,” he said.

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