The National Green Tribunal expressed concern over the discharge of effluents to water bodies and requested that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests notify the standards for discharge from the pharmaceutical industry.
The NGT directive was issued as it was hearing a complaint about alleged pollution of rivers by active pharmaceutical ingredients by the pharma industry in Baddi (Solan district, Himachal Pradesh).
Baddi is home to more that 270 companies and is the country’s biggest pharma hub.
The NGT also directed the closure of pharma companies that failed to comply with the state and central pollution control norms.
An earlier committee made up of the NGT and the state pollution control board stated that 97% of the pharma units were not in compliance with the draft norms for effluent discharge set by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
On January 1, 2020 the Ministry had issued a draft notice about the norms for permissible effluent disposal by amending Environment Protection (Rules), 1987.
The tribunal ordered that the standards suggested in the draft notification be followed, pending finalization by the ministry.
NGT also voiced dissatisfaction towards the Ministry, pointing out that even though the draft was published in 2020, the Ministry has not yet established a regulatory mechanism for such important issues. The Green Bench noted that this abeyance must end as the Ministry was unable or unwilling to finalize the draft standards after two year.
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