More trouble in India as five tanneries have been shut down by authorities for discharging toxic effluent into local waterways. The latest incident is in Kanpur, where the Central Pollution Control Board informed the National Green Tribunal that the units lacked NOC from the Central Ground Water Authority.
The tanneries affected are Minaar Industries, Kazi Leather (Huda Hide Agency), N R Tanners, Nusrat Tannery Pvt Ltd and New Universal Tannery.
"The CPCB has filed a joint inspection report. Apart from other observations, common observation in all the joint inspections is that there is no No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA)," comprising Justice Jawad Rahim, said. "It is doubtful that CGWA can grant NOC in critical area of basin/catchment area of river Ganga and its tributaries where extraction of ground water adversely affects the flow of the river.
"Even without going into this question, the fact remains that the CGWA has not granted any such permission and in absence thereof, no industrial unit can be allowed to function without such permission in view of the concluded judgment of this Tribunal… In view of the above, we are unable to permit the tanneries in question to operate," it concluded.
