BENGALURU: The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has issued closure notice to a sugar factory owned by former Union Minister and BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal in Chinmaidrai village in Kalaburagi citing various violations. I put it out.
According to the notification issued on January 25, Siddashiri Ethanol and Power Ltd. has no right to discharge untreated waste into water streams, stagnate wastewater, store pressed mud or ash in the open, and remove waste from sugar units. Improper containment of excess condensate has been found to pose a risk. Groundwater pollution. Further, it was found that the mill had started sugarcane crushing activities without obtaining prior consent from KSPCB.
“The sugarcane crushing activity was started without the prior consent of the board of directors (CFO). ETP construction work was underway. The boiler has been commissioned and is in operation. The industry is installing distillation columns for ethanol production, but a letter of establishment (CFE) for the activity has not been issued. “No,” the closure notice says.
Reacting to the notice, Yatnal told X (formerly Twitter) that the KSPCB order was politically motivated. He said the factory was set up in an undeveloped area with the aim of creating jobs for local residents.
“This factory was set up to support farmers in backward areas and create employment. We will challenge this in court. I am not afraid of any such notice or order. “Hmm,” he added.
Meanwhile, Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre defended the KSPCB's action citing blatant violation of environmental regulations by the Yatnal plant.
“A factory in Yatnal crushed tons of sugarcane without permission from the authorities concerned. A year ago, the federal government had imposed the following penalties on Yatnal. INR1.5 billion yen for violating the Environmental Protection Act. Yatnal paid the penalty. Given the incident, Mr. Yatnal's claim that the state government's action was politically motivated is baseless,” Mr. Kandre told reporters in Kalaburagi.
The closure of the sugar factory comes amid increased scrutiny of industrial compliance following the recent incident in which two workers were killed due to a gas leak in Humnabad in Bidar district.
The Environment Minister has launched a comprehensive audit of industrial operations across the state to ensure compliance with environmental norms. At a meeting of the Pollution Control Committee held a week ago, the minister had asked authorities to investigate the number of factories that violated environmental protection laws and sought reports on violators.
Based on the report, the state government has started taking action against various factories polluting the air and water, Kandol revealed.
