Pune: Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) will not grant any further leeway to ready-mix concrete (RMC) plants that fail to comply with environmental norms issued last October, chairman Siddhesh Kadam said on Monday.
The statement comes at a time when nearly 300 RMC units in Pune have stopped manufacturing due to a lack of coordination between MPCB, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), and the traffic police.
"A lot of time was given to RMC operators to comply with the norms. The new norms would help bring down pollution," Kadam told reporters. However, he added that he "cannot guarantee" it would "bring down dust pollution 100 percent."
Kadam also met RMC stakeholders on Monday and assured them that MPCB would support RMC owners as long as they comply with the norms.
"We were informed by the chairman that MPCB's regional team is already coordinating with the district collector, local bodies, and traffic authorities to develop a common standard operating procedure covering RMC plant installation, operation, execution, and transportation," said Pradip Walhekar, president of the Pune RMC Association.
Erecting a covered shed over the RMC manufacturing plant is a key requirement of MPCB rules aimed at reducing dust pollution in residential areas near RMC plants.
"If RMC units require permission from PMC to erect the shed, they should approach the municipal body to get it. We have also urged PMC to take action where there is non-compliance of their norms," Kadam added.
RMC operators had called for a single-window clearance system instead of the current one, where they need to get permissions from multiple authorities.
The Pune RMC Association had earlier pointed out that although MPCB directed plants to construct sheds as part of its norms, PMC was taking action against them for erecting illegal structures. PMC has in the past three months demolished or sealed at least 30 RMC units across the city, including in Lohegaon, Dhanori, Dhayari, and Undri areas.
Kadam also said that MPCB had started a third-party audit to look into untreated sewage discharge by PMC and large residential complexes that have their own sewage treatment plants (STPs) in an effort to curb river pollution. MPCB is also in the process of setting up new regional offices in the industrial areas of Pune district, with the main regional office in Wakdewadi to serve all stakeholders better.
