Cost apportionment was done by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri), Nagpur. There were four criteria to apportion the cost: area of the unit, power consumption, water consumption, and number of workers. "The unit which was using 0.5 hp of power was shown as using 5 hp; the 100-sq m unit was occupying 1,000 sq m. There were any number of similar errors. As a result, some of the units have been asked to pay even 50 times more than what should be their actual share," complains J R Jindal, president, Delhi Factory Owners' Federation (DFOF).

Even officials admit that there have been clerical and typographic errors. "Most ofthe objections by industrialists relate to duplication and misreporting," says J P Singh, commissioner of industries, government of National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Businessmen say that the cavalier attitude and gross inefficiency demonstrated by Neeri in furnishing data regarding cost apportionment only reflects the callousness of the authorities in general. Says S K Tandon, general secretary, Confederation of Delhi Industries and CETP Societies, "Almost every government agency has failed to comply with the orders of the Supreme Court." It is to be noted that CETPs in the Capital are being set up as per the ruling of the apex court.

Adds Tandon, "As it is, Neeri has been late in collecting information. And the manner in which it has done this is hardly commendable."

Tandon adds that earlier Neeri had claimed that the cost to be borne by each unit would vary from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000. "But any number of units have been asked to cough up lakhs of rupees. One of the units has been asked to pay asmuch as Rs 24 lakh."

Many businessmen were clever enough to find about the criteria for cost apportionment. They filled the forms in such a manner that their share would be extremely low. "But this is a zero-sum game. In any particular area, the cost of its CETP is fixed. If X and Y do not pay, Z has to pay for them."

Many industrialists feel that the whole idea of setting up CETPs does not make much sense. Says Vishwa Mittra Bahl, president of the Delhi-based Laghu Udyog Bharati, "The contribution of industrial effluents in the drains of Delhi is only 2 per cent after the closure of 2,000-odd polluting units. So, what is this fuss all about? Why target industry, which comprises small and medium companies? Is it because the smaller units are a soft target? These units are supposed to take care of pollution while nothing is being done to check pollution because of sewage."

Officials also say that non-compliance by industry cannot be logically sustained by arguing that since nobody else is complying, itshould not be asked to comply. For one, others are also complying. Singh says that steps have been taken to treat sewage which is the major cause for the pollution of the Yamuna. "A number of sewage treatment plants are being set up to treat sewage," he says.

I K Kapila, senior environmental engineer, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, points out that the contribution of industry to water pollution is more than what is being claimed by businessmen. "In volume terms, industrial effluents are in the tune of 15 per cent of the total discharge in drains. And since it is industrial waste, its polluting capacity is much more than that of domestic waste," says Kapila.

He also adds that for misreporting of information regarding power consumption, area, etc, it is the industrial units that have to be blamed. "Rather than officials, it was the industrialists who showed a cavalier attitude and insincerity. The forms were not filled by qualified people. The clerical and typographic errors have mostly been from theirside, not from our side. How on earth Neeri, which is based at Nagpur, would know whether the information given by a unit is correct or not?" asks Kapila.

He also says that the units which have deliberately misinformed the authorities about their share are not cheating the government but their own community. "The main problem is that the industry sees compliance to the environmental norms as a problem. It feels that CETPs are being imposed on them, which is not the case. The government is doing its best to help industry; it is sharing half their monetary burden." Whether industry is in the right and the authorities in the wrong--or is it the other way around--one is not sure, but one thing is certain: unless some seriousness is brought into data-collection, there won't be any progress in the direction of CETPs' construction. And in this, both the Delhi industry as well as government agencies have to show more concern and sincerity.