Anatomy of industrial pollution

On a quiet afternoon, cries of peacocks hidden inside weeds and water plants echoed amid Narasappanahalli Lake, in contrast to the noise from an engineering industry nearby. On a compound side, two small tanks containing putrid semi-treated water quietly discharged it to the lake area. The smell and ambience in the area was unbearable.

. This lake inside the Peenya Industrial Area in Bengaluru is just one of the lakes bearing the brunt of industrial pollution. It is unkempt and has no caretakers. Shivapura Lake is one more lake closeby.

. The industrial area stabliched in 1970s and touted as South East Asia’s biggest, covering about 50 sqkm, has had no robust plan to treat the effluents. The area houses several potentially polluting industries such as electroplating, alloy and metal works, battery refurbishing, welding, powder coating, lead processing, spray painting, phosphating, pickling, anodisation, pharmaceuticals, garment washing or dyeing units etc.

. Back in 2010, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) carried out an environmental assessment of 88 industrial clusters across the country based on the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI). The study declared the Peenya Industrial Area a “severely polluted” area, with a CEPI score of 65.11 in 2010, indicating heavy air, water, and soil pollution by various contaminants.

. In April 2016, the CPCB asked the state pollution control boards to implement revised CEPI criteria and prepare action plans. In December 2018, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered that states prepare time-bound plans to control pollution.

. Finally, in 2020, after ten years of being declared as a severely polluted area, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) prepared a CEPI action plan to deal with the pollution.

. A 2017 study by ATREE showed high levels of heavy metal pollution in Vrushabhavati rive, the source of which was traced to lakes in Peenya. The research team also showed that the data they gathered was way more than what the KSPCB’s data showed. This was when the need for a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) dawned on policymakers.

. The money not used

. The data from the CEPI action plan of 2020 shows that the area generated 1,059 KLD of sewage and 1,251 KLD of industrial effluents. In the 2018-19 budget, the state government sanctioned Rs 10 crore for the CETP, but the work never took off. Finally, the money went back to the state finance department.

. Cut to 2024. A study published by an Ecological Engineering and Environmental Technology research team showed heavy metal contamination (high levels of mercury, cadmium, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, arsenic, and aluminium) in the groundwater and soil inside the industrial area.

. The study also identified contamination zones outside the industrial area due to the distribution of pollutants due to runoff from the industrial area. Nothing changed in seven years, and pollution only got worse.

. This is just one of the studies. Many studies have pointed out the heavy metal contamination in water and the sad state of lakes around again and again. Shivapura and Narasappanahalli lakes are the lakes that are affected immediately.

. “In today’s advanced technology, we can build a very good CETP with less than Rs 5 crore. Why can’t the government proceed with it?” asks Shiva Kumar R, President of Peenya Industrial Association, highlighting the need for CETP as the effluent discharge ends up affecting the water in surrounding lakes.

. The tragedy of numbers

. The CEPI plan of 2020 lists 334 red, 473 orange, and 1,294 green category industries according to their work, which also influences the effluent they generate. However, KSPCB’s data shared with DH show only 136 red-category units, 261 orange-category units, and 909 green-category units.

. Today, as per KSPCB’s data, the effluent generated is 1458.37 kilolitres per day (KLD). 1403.16 KLD is being treated in the Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) in the respective organisations, while 55.21 KLD is being sent to treatment plants located outside.

. Sources say heavy metal pollution comes from many small red-category units that do hazardous work but operate with a few staff, less space, turnover, or profits. While there are about 250 units officially, the number could go up to 500 unofficially, according to people in the know.

. Shiva Kumar says the area has 16,000 industrial units, of which 90% are micro and small. However, the Association does not have an exact number of units in each category. “A survey will be undertaken soon to categorise everyone and bring accountability,” he adds.

. The licensed ones must tie up with the licenced effluent treatment firms that collect and carry the industrial effluent outside the city, but unlicensed ones have no oversight, says an industry insider. He adds that such outsourced treatment costs Rs 3-3.5 per litre, which is economically unviable for many due to competition.

. There are examples of under-measuring and under-sending effluents to the outsourced treatment firms while quietly discharging the effluents in the surroundings. The KSPCB acts blissfully unaware of these. According to them, all is well.

. Shiva Kumar says there are about 50 sewage treatment plants and 25 effluent treatment plants installed by various big industries. However, according to him, there is one big problem: the lack of manpower trained to handle the plants. “There is no course to train people to handle STPs or ETPs. As a result, the quality of treated water might suffer. The government should start courses to fill this gap,” he says.

. Balachandra H C, Member Secretary of KSPCB, says that Environmental Management & Policy Research Institute (EMPRI) provides such training on a need-basis. Still, it is the responsibility of the industries to get trained manpower to handle the STPs, not the government’s, he adds.

. A recent interaction between KSPCB officials and industrialists from Peenya saw the latter hand over a memorandum to the KSPCB highlighting various issues. The demand for CETP topped the list.

. KSPCB reacts

. When asked about the challenges in building a common ETP and the efforts that have taken place, KSPCB officials say some industries have in-house ETPs.

. “The Board has agreed to provide an ETP in the Peenya Industrial Area. In this regard, a separate committee has been formed. A plan to provide a CETP of 125 KLD at Peenya was finalised based on discussions. A technical proposal and line estimate have been obtained from M/s H2O India Pvt Ltd., Chennai. The tender process is in progress,” said a response from Vijayalakshmi, senior environmental officer, Bengaluru City, KSPCB.

. When asked what the recorded quality of treated water from STPs and ETPs is and where the treated water goes, the KSPCB officials say the industries are treating the effluents as stipulated by the Board in the respective consent orders.

. “The mode of treatment and discharge is followed by the industry as stipulated specifically in the consent orders,” says the note, without specifying where the treated water is going. According to KSPCB data, there is no untreated effluent in the area.

. KSPCB officials, reeling under staff shortage, express helplessness when posed with queries on compliance. However, on record, they say the inspections are done regularly.

Anatomy of industrial pollution

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