Tannery closures have little impact

Following the Supreme Court order three months ago to close the tanneries of West Bengal, manufacturers are still 'meeting most of their requirements of raw material from local sources', according to officials from the CLE. 'A buffer stock is still providing a cushion to the shortfall', the official continued. 'We had bought leather from Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Kanpur to build the stock', explained an exporter of industrial leather gloves. The Supreme Court decision is said to have achieved its objective in galvanising the government, the agency that is upgrading the leather complex and the tanners into action, and most tanners are now trying to adopt the clean technology promoted by the Central Leather Research Institute. The West Bengal government, which took over the project for the common effluent treatment plant from M L Dalmiya Construction Company, has awarded the project to an Austrian company, VA-Tech Wabag.