Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday directed Pollution Control Board (PCB) to inform whether the industrial units existing at Hill View Colony are being run in confirmation with the norms laid down by the Board.
Hearing a Public Interest litigation, a division bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul directed AAG Asifa Padroo to file an affidavit indicating the time limit within which Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) would be made operational at Hill View Colony Old Air Field Road, Wanabal Rangreth Yayil, Gogoo here.
While the Court asked the PCB to inform as to when the industrial unit was established, it said the Board may undertake a fresh exercise to reappraise that the industrial units are in consonance with the parameters laid down by it.
The directions came after the PCB in its compliance report filed stated that according to the survey report nearly 150 industrial units exist in the area which included 3 units in Red category, 53 units in Orange category, 64 units in Green category and 22 units in White category.
The report further said that a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) was proposed to be established for the primary treatment of the effluents and the waste water discharged by these industries.
The civil work for the construction of the said plant, the report said, has been completed by the SIDCO but the mechanical part is yet to be done.
Meanwhile the court directed Moomin Khan, standing counsel for the Srinagar Municipal Corporation( SMC) to file an affidavit of the senior officer specifically stating as to whether the industrial area was established first or Hill View Colony Colony.
The court also directed him to inform whether the Colony was established in accordance with the Master Plan and after due sanction of the lay out. The court also sought details whether the colony is an unauthorized colony or is one which has been approved by the SMC or the Srinagar Development Authority.
The residents of Hill View Colony Old Air Field Road are aggrieved against effluent discharge by the industrial units into a water body of the area due to which “”they are facing health hazards as there is no proper arrangement for treatment of the waste and effluents”.