CHENNAI, June 23: The Madras high court has ordered closure of 44 dyeing and bleaching units in and around Tirupur for not failing to take steps towards setting up effluent treatment plants (ETPs). The first bench of the court comprising acting chief justice KA Thannikachalam and justice NV Balasubramanian, however, extended the deadline for 420 units, which are in the process of setting up individual ETPs, by four months to October 20 this year.

A similar breather was also granted to the 288 units implementing a common effluent treatment plant (CETP). The Bench directed the 708 units to obtain clearance certificate from the state pollution control board (PCB) on or before the stipulated date.

The PCB was also directed to monitor these units and submit details before the next hearing (October 22). The Bench also said, ``if the ETPs are not established within the stipulated time of four months the units will be closed without any further intimation. No further time will be granted under any circumstances.''

The order, passed on Friday, was on a petition filed by the owners of dyeing and bleaching units of Tirupur seeking time extension granted on March 6, this year for setting up ETPs and CETPs.

In the said petition, the Bench had granted time till the 16th of this month for setting up the treatment plants. Earlier, the counsel for the state pollution control board had pleaded that the units should be closed down as only then would the owners initiate steps for establishing the ETPs/CETP. According to the counsel, all the units were functioning without the PCB's consent.

Pleading for another breather, the counsel for the petitioners (unit owners) submitted that there were various categories of units, and the progress made by them for setting up ETPs was part of a report filed by the PCB to the Court. They also pleaded that the units which were functioning should not be closed down.

In its report, the PCB had stated that there were 464 units which have either provided or proposed to install ETPs, whereas 288 units are covered under the CETP scheme. According to another finding, in the report there were 114 units which have closed down although they have facilities to function without the ETP.

As regards 223 units, civil works for installing the ETP have been completed, and mechanical and electrical work is under progress. The number of bleaching and dyeing units in which 50 per cent of the work is over stands at 114 and there are 52 units which have not shown any appreciable progress in implementing the treatment plants.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.