Authorities shirking from taking action against illegal chilled water jar units
| Date :19-Nov-2020 |
By Kaushik Bhattacharya :
Authorities also confused over issuance of licenses n MPCB have NMC’s list of 125 units that have no license, NMC denied the list
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) — the three agencies responsible for issuing licenses to cool water can, chilled water jar units (plants) to do water selling business — are totally confused and shirking from taking action against plants doing business without any licence. National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently passed order for MPCB to seal cool water can, chilled water jar units (plants) immediately which have no permission from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and NOC from Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to run such plants. Petitioner Vijaysingh Dubbal and others filed an application before the NGT, regarding manufacturing plants or units of chilled drinking water jars/ cans without obtaining ‘Consent to Operate’ and selling of such unpackaged and unsealed chilled water jars or cans, which are not potable and thus hazardous to health.
However, MPCB issued directions to all local bodies of the State to identify the illegal activities of cool water can, chilled water jar units (plants) doing water selling business without any licence that falls under their jurisdiction. “NMC have provided a list of about 125 plants in the city which have no license to run such business. We also issued notice to NMC to seal such plants but no action yet they have taken on these units,” said Hema Deshpande, Sub-Regional Officer, MPCB to The Hitavada. “To run such business in city limits the person must require permission from the local body first, consent to establish next and then it require conditional consent from MPCB for the project,” said Deshpande.
No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Industrial Department and Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) are also needed to run such plant, she added. According to Shweta Banarji, Superintending Engineer, Public Health Engineering Department of NMC said, “NMC is taking step to work on MPCB’s notice and we have approached the Board to guide us for issuance of licenses to such plants.” According to MPCB observation, the illegal activities, activities against the provision of law damage the environment, extracting ground water without any authority more than the 100 of units are being done and that too within the purview and eyes of the municipal or local administrations.
However, MPCB have a list of 125 cool water can, chilled water jar units (plants) of Nagpur that issued by NMC. But, civic body said that they have no list of plants yet that running chilled water distribution business in the city from last many years. Similarly, FDA also shrugged-off the responsibility of issuing NOC to such plants that doing business in the city by saying that units must require the registration from British Standards Institution (BSI) first then we will issue NOC because it is not a packing unit. As per NGT order, the threat needs to be taken seriously on the background that the water used for chilling and then selling in cans or jars is taken from bore well which can contain various impurities including fungal growth, other hazardous contains like lead, chemicals, solvents, etc. The units that are doing business in the city are also in confusion that where they approach to get license for their business.