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Navi Mumbai: Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has been ordered by the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday to file a detailed affidavit about the overall status of chemical pollution caused in Taloja due to the proximity to industries. The apex court has given three weeks’ time to file the affidavit declaring the nature of pollution caused in Taloja due to release of chemical effluents into the Kasardi river by around 900 factories situated within the MIDC belt of the node.
The order came as a response by the SC to the petition filed by activist Arvind Mhatre regarding the rampant pollution of the Kasadi river in Taloja. According to the petition, the pollution is caused due to discharge of untreated Industrial effluents from the industrial factories. The court has asked the board to specify the measures being taken to combat the issue along with a report on the functionality of the effluent treatment plant in the area.
Mhatre had approached SC last year in the month of February as per the suggestion of National Green Tribunal (NGT) wherein he had filed a case in 2017. “After we approached NGT, the tribunal had given specific direction to the companies to address the pollution in the area which were not adhered to. According to the suggestion by the tribunal, we then appealed before the SC," said Mhatre.
In a study that was conducted by IIT, the pollution has reportedly caused alarming effects on the river's ecosystem in addition to having adverse effects on the health of residents. “There have been incidents of animals dying. The fishes have been destroyed in the river. The mangroves along the stretch is destroyed. The residents have been suffering for more than a decade now due to ailments such as breathlessness and allergies,” Mhatre said, adding, "MIDC has apparently spent over Rs 70 crore in the construction of Common Effluent treatment plant (CETP) and monthly a total of Rs 1.30 crore is spent in the name of maintenance. But the functioning of the plant is questionable as the output is not to be seen. What does MPCB present before the court is to be waited and watched.”
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