All bleaching units in Panipat unregistered, reveals RTI report

Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

Panipat, June 18

An RTI query has brought out that all 150 to 200 bleaching units in the district are not registered with the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB).

The HSPCB’s reply came on the query by Vaibhav Deswal, an RTI activist, who sought information about the number of legal and illegal industries and bleaching units operational in the textile city.

The malaise of illegal units is not limited to just bleaching units. A majority of the industrial units in the district are unregistered.

The HSPCB, in its reply, has said only 523 industries have the consent to operate. To put this figure into perspective, there are about 20,000 units in the district, said industrialist Bhim Singh Rana. So, only 2.6 per cent of units are registered.

Bhim Singh Rana, who is also the chairman of the Federation of All-industrial Associations, said his outfit did not support the illegal bleaching units. Environmentalist Amit Kumar said, “It is shocking that all bleaching units in the district are illegal. These units cause air and water pollution, but the authorities are simply not bothered.”

Shailender Arora, regional officer, HSPCB, said, “We sealed 13 illegal units this year. This is a continuous process,” he added.