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Chandigarh: Continuing its action against polluting units in the state, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has put the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) and the Panipat Thermal Power Station (PTPS) on notice for emission of particulate matter beyond the permissible limits.
The matter relates to the emission from unit number 7 of the PTPS. This unit had remained under the scanner of CPCB and also the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) for the past two years.
In a final notice issued on November 13, which is learned to have been received by HPGCL and PTPS on November 27, the central board has asked the two agencies to justify the delay in putting the required pollution control equipment in place so far.
While serving the notice, CPCB has also threatened to close down the unit for want of environment clearance from the state and relevant central agency.
According to information, during the sampling done by CPCB last month, 180.3mg of particulate matter was recorded against the norm of 143.03mg, which is the prescribed upper limit. Even the previous readings have been around this figure, leading to environmental activists in the city raising their concerns.
Panipat is the 11th most polluted city of the country, with its air and water both severely polluted by industries and big units like the Indian Oil Corporation refinery for which penalty of Rs 660 crore was recommended recently.
“Now, in view of the non-compliance of standards in the Unit number 7... and in exercise of powers vested under section 5 of the Environment Protection Act, PTPS and HPGCL are hereby directed to show cause as to why unit number 7 of the plant should not be closed,” the notice sent by CPCB member secretary S P S Parihar reads.
When contacted, HPGCL managing director Mohammad Shayin confirmed having received the notice. “The board has already initiated the process of putting measures in place. We could not complete it due to technical process of tendering. Now, we have re-tendered the proposal. We will communicate this to CPCB,” he said. |
