With no promising technology available to attain the zero-liquid discharge norms, the 740 dyeing units of Tirupur have mooted a desperate proposal to buy millions of litres of pure water from the municipal corporation of the city to dilute their industrial discharge before releasing into the river.
The surprising plan is from the Dyers Association of Tirupur (DAT) in an attempt to comply with last week’s Madras High Court order, which asked all dyeing units to close down immediately owing to non-compliance with zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) norms since they were polluting the Noyyal river that flows by the town. The proposal comes as Tirupur came to a halt on Friday, with political parties calling for a bandh in Southern India’s biggest textile city, that is facing a huge threat to its survival following the court order. The parties claim the state government has been slow to react to the crisis, even as state textiles and handlooms minister KKSSR Ramachandran, led a delegation of ministers to meet all sections of Tirupur industry. The industry associations claim the court order could lead to a collapse of the entire Tirupur economy, which depends on garments and allied activities with an annual turnover of Rs 20,000 crore.
To save themselves the dyers association has asked the New Tirupur Area Development Corporation, to supply potable water in the ratio of 1:2 (one quantity of effluent requires 2 times that of water for reducing the effluent level to 2,100 PPM or TDS), according S Samiappan, president of DAT.
It has also sought the state government?s intervention allowing them to discharge effluent with 2,100 TDS (total dissolved salt) as per norms prescribed by Central Pollution Control Board. The units have formed a joint action committee with the other associations in the textile sector to push their case with the state government. The DAT is convinced that buying water to dilute effluents is necessary as the Rs 1,200-crore they have spent on technology over the years to check pollution by borrowing heavily from banks/institutions has gone waste.
With the closure of entire dyeing/bleaching units, the backbone of entire Tirupur economy, particularly the entire garment industry, will come to a near standstill in the next few days, said A Sakthivel, president, Tirupur Exporters Association. With fear looming large over the livelihood of more than 500,000 employeesDAT, along with other associations, have requested the state government to intervene seriously and enable them to source millions of litres of more water from NTDADCL at an accepted price per litre between the parties, thereby helping them to bring down the effluent discharge level to 2,100 TDS.
?This need to be considered as an interim measure till such time till such time the proposed Marine Discharge Project, wherein the units can discharge the effluents directly into the sea, using various methods and technologies and through a long pipeline at the nearby seaface in the state,? the official said. The 13th Finance Commission has accepted this proposal and said to have allocated Rs 200 crore towards this project, but nothing seem to be happening on this front as it not only provide a long-term solution but also cost heavily, the official admitted..
The state ministers told the delegation of industries that they will discuss the matter with the chief minister and asked them to meet again on February 8.
According to Samiappan one of the options is to initiate talks again with the farmers associations ? Noyyal River Anaicut Protectors Association and Oothapalayam Farmers Welfare Association, who moved the petition in the high court against the dyers. ?Our first objective is to ensure to bring cordial atmosphere in Tirupur and ensure the industry functions as usual. We will find out amicable ways in cooperation with the farmers associations and legal experts concerned and ensure earlier resumption of the dyeing/bleaching units.?
Meanwhile, a few independent dyeing unit owners, who have set up their own ETPs, have moved the Madras High Court to allow them to run their dyeing units as usual as they can meet the ZLD level with proper initiatives at the earliest. The court took up the matter and posted it for Tuesday, February 8, 2011.
The HC has asked the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Boad to set up a committee of experts to file a status report on or before Tuesday, whether these units can fulfill their promise on attaining the ZLD as said by them in the court on Friday. Based on the report, HC will decide on further course of actions.