Officials ask tanneries to suspend operations till CETP defects are rectified

After villagers complained of effluent discharge from the Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) of VANITEC and protested overnight, officials of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) inspected the facility on Monday and directed the management to rectify certain defects.

Till then, the member units of the CETP, the tanneries, have been instructed to suspend operations.

A section of villagers staged a protest outside the CETP on Sunday alleging that effluents from the plant were discharged into a channel in Girisamuthiram.

“We received a complaint last night based on which we carried out an inspection on Monday. There was no discharge of effluents when we inspected the CETP. However, there are signs that there could have been discharge at night due to excess rainfall,” said M. Pannirselvam, District Environmental Engineer, TNPCB, Vaniyambadi.

CETP inspected

The District Environmental Engineer along with other officials of TNPCB, Vaniyambadi Tahsildar and Deputy Superintendent of Police of Vaniyambadi inspected the CETP.

“We noticed that the wall of the solar evaporation pan was damaged. We have asked VANITEC to rectify the wall. Until then, VANITEC has asked its member units to suspend operations,” he said.

Iqbal Ahmed, Managing Director of VANITEC, said not a single drop of effluent was discharged from the CETP.

“There is no evidence that waste water was discharged. We are strictly adhering to Zero Liquid Discharge system. There are 130 member units, and we receive 1,700 cubic metres of waste water from these tanneries for treatment every day. We have permission from TNPCB to treat up to 2,000 cubic metres of waste water. It undergoes chemical and biological treatment, and the recycled purified water is sent back to the tanneries,” he said.

He said that the channel in Girisamuthiram is at least 25 feet away from the CETP.

He also said that online TDS meter was provided in the downstream of the channel in Girisamuthiram.

‘Low TDS level’

“It has clearly indicated that there is no discharge as the level of TDS was low – 900 milligram per litre,” he said.

He added that the height of the wall of the solar evaporation pan would be raised by two feet.

“Till then, the member units have been asked to suspend operations for two days during which the work will be taken up,” he said.