AUGUST 4, 2019 • THE WEEK 59government. Earlier, too, units had
been shut down three days before
every significant date of bathing to
ensure that visibly clean water came
down the Ganga and subsequently
the Sangam, where the pilgrims
bathed. This time though, the closure
window has been used by the state to
find long-term solutions.
“The key change is our refusal to
allow a reopening till all pollution
control norms are met,” state’s
principal secretary of urban
development Manoj Kumar Singh
tells THE WEEK. “The government
is firm that not a single drop of
untreated water will flow into
the Ganga. Tanneries were shut
earlier, too. The matter is before the
regulatory bodies and we cannot set
a time frame for the opening.”
The prime among the bodies
cited by Singh is the National Green
Tribunal (NGT), which, in July 2018,
notes that water from Haridwar to
Kanpur was unfit for drinking and,
with a few exceptions, even unfit
for bathing. “There was dumping of
chromium at and around Jajmau and
Kanpur,” it says. “There was violation
of provisions of the Water Act, 1974,
requiring closing of industries
and prosecution. There has to be
meaningful further action to restore
the minimum prescribed standard
for all the rivers of the country.
The polluter has to pay the cost of
restoring the damage.”
Taj Alam, vice president of
the Unnao chapter of the state’s
Leather Industries Association,
says that though the industry
was in agreement with the NGT’s
determination, the government had
selectively targeted tanneries.
“There is only despair for us,”
he says. “The government started
a staggered shutdown of units in
November. We hoped that they
would open after the Kumbh. Then
we thought it would happen after
the elections. But there is nothing
forthcoming from the government.
We are totally hopeless. There are
other grossly polluting industries,
such as paper and textile, but these
have been left untouched.”
Only 26 of the estimated 300
tanneries in Kanpur and six of the
84 in Unnao have been permitted
operation. These are bigger units that
employ between 200 and 800 people
and have primary and secondary
treatment measures for effluents
in place. The ones that are shut
are smaller units, some with justOnly 26 of the
estimated 300
tanneries in Kanpur
and six of the 84
in Unnao have
been permitted
operation.