CHENNAI: The Noyyal river water is unfit for human consumption or use, the Madras high court has been told. In a report submitted to the court, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has said the pollution level in the water sample collected by the authorities was much above the acceptable standards.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice M Yusuf Eqbal and Justice TS Sivagnanam, before which a contempt of court petition filed with regard to the pollution caused by dyeing and bleaching units came up for hearing on Tuesday, took cognizance of the report and asked the court registry to circulate it to all the parties to the case for eliciting their response.
The judges also asked the authorities to file a detailed affidavit mentioning the dyeing and bleaching units that had been ordered to be closed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). The bench then adjourned the matter to November 22 for further hearing.
The Noyyal river, originating in the Vellingiri Hills of the Western Ghats, flows for about 175 km through Coimbatore, Erode and Karur districts before joining the Cauvery river near Noyyal village. Chemical and toxic effluents discharged into the Orathanadu dam by bleaching and dyeing units have affected groundwater in more than 95 villages in the districts of Erode and Karur. There are about 720 dyeing units in the region.
The contempt of court petition was filed by the Noyyal River Ayacutdars Protection Association, which claimed that the high court orders delivered in April 2008 had not been honoured by the authorities. In the petition, the association's president AP Kandasamy submitted that the court had directed the TNPCB to inspect dyeing and bleaching units in and around Tirupur and take steps to remove the excess production machinery with the assistance of the court-appointed monitoring committee.
On October 4, the first bench had deputed an official of the high court to visit the Kasipalayam village in Erode district and collect a water sample from the river. On October 21, the court had asked the authorities to send the sample to the NEERI's Chennai Zonal Lab at CSIR Madras Complex in Tharamani. A report, in a sealed cover, shall be submitted within a week from the date of receipt of water samples in sealed bottles, it said.
The NEERI submitted its report on October 29. When the matter is taken up for further hearing on November 22, the court is expected to analyse the replies of the TNPCB, as also the other stake-holders such as the unit-owners, and pass appropriate orders.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice M Yusuf Eqbal and Justice TS Sivagnanam, before which a contempt of court petition filed with regard to the pollution caused by dyeing and bleaching units came up for hearing on Tuesday, took cognizance of the report and asked the court registry to circulate it to all the parties to the case for eliciting their response.
The judges also asked the authorities to file a detailed affidavit mentioning the dyeing and bleaching units that had been ordered to be closed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). The bench then adjourned the matter to November 22 for further hearing.
The Noyyal river, originating in the Vellingiri Hills of the Western Ghats, flows for about 175 km through Coimbatore, Erode and Karur districts before joining the Cauvery river near Noyyal village. Chemical and toxic effluents discharged into the Orathanadu dam by bleaching and dyeing units have affected groundwater in more than 95 villages in the districts of Erode and Karur. There are about 720 dyeing units in the region.
The contempt of court petition was filed by the Noyyal River Ayacutdars Protection Association, which claimed that the high court orders delivered in April 2008 had not been honoured by the authorities. In the petition, the association's president AP Kandasamy submitted that the court had directed the TNPCB to inspect dyeing and bleaching units in and around Tirupur and take steps to remove the excess production machinery with the assistance of the court-appointed monitoring committee.
On October 4, the first bench had deputed an official of the high court to visit the Kasipalayam village in Erode district and collect a water sample from the river. On October 21, the court had asked the authorities to send the sample to the NEERI's Chennai Zonal Lab at CSIR Madras Complex in Tharamani. A report, in a sealed cover, shall be submitted within a week from the date of receipt of water samples in sealed bottles, it said.
The NEERI submitted its report on October 29. When the matter is taken up for further hearing on November 22, the court is expected to analyse the replies of the TNPCB, as also the other stake-holders such as the unit-owners, and pass appropriate orders.
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