‘The UPPCB as per the directives of the high court conducted raids in the three tanneries which were Upper India, Crown Tanning and Imperial Leather and inspected the size of the treatment plants, their running capacity, their effluent discharging methods. Out of the three tanneries, which were raided, two were found closed’, said UPPCB regional officer, Radhey Shyam. During the raid, the capacity of the primary effluent treatment plant (PETP) installed at Upper India Tannery was not found sufficient for the raw leather tanning, said Radhey Shyam. ‘Tanning of raw leather is the prime stage when the maximum polluting effluents are discharged and thus the tannery was warned against having a low capacity treatment plant for raw tanning’, he added.
‘Out of the remaining two, water samples were collected from Imperial Leather Tannery, which would be analysed at the UPPCB laboratory to check the water quality there’, he said.
The UPPCB officials conducted random inspections at five other tanneries in Jajmau and took note of the status of the functioning of the treatment plants. ‘Barring a few irregularities in the tanneries, they were working properly. However, the tannery owners have been warned of judicial action by the high court, if they do not abide by the norms to check the pollution’, said UPPCB officials.
The tanneries have been facing the wrath of the district authorities as well as the UPPCB for flouting pollution laws.
Source: The Times of India
